Bruce Staley

Begin with the end in mind is the second of Stephen Covey’s seven habits of highly effective people. While the first habit, seek first to understand then to be understood, can be considered in the context of  James 1:19-20 what is the Christian context for the second habit? While I have found all the habits set out by Covey to be helpful is there more to the second habit? We picture the end product then proceed to take the steps to produce it e.g. a new home begins with ideas, then a plan and then construction. Does the same apply to a person’s life? Covey uses the illustration of attending one’s own funeral where there are four speakers, one from your family, another a friend, a third speaker is from your workplace or profession and the final speaker is from your church or community organisation. He then poses the question, What would you like each of them to say about you and your life? While there is merit in the exercise I find I am limited in my capacity, my knowledge, skills...

Begin with the end in mind is the second of Stephen Covey’s seven habits of highly effective people. While the first habit, seek first to understand then to be understood, can be considered in the context of  James 1:19-20 what is the Christian context for the second habit? While I have found all the habits set out by Covey to be helpful is there more to the second habit? We picture the end product then proceed to take the steps to produce it e.g. a new home begins with ideas, then a plan and then construction. Does the same apply to a person’s life? Covey uses the illustration of attending one’s own funeral where there are four speakers, one from your family, another a friend, a third speaker is from your workplace or profession and the final speaker is from your church or community organisation. He then poses the question, What would you like each of them to say about you and your life? While there is merit in the exercise I find I am limited in my capacity, my knowledge, s...

Christians meeting together in worship is always purposeful. God never rests from achieving his purposes. If we have decided to become a follower of Jesus then the constant question on our lips needs to be, How then shall I live? When we respond to this question we are cooperating with God in the achievement of his purposes. James in his letter is clear that what we say and do, our words and our deeds, need to be consistent. They are like the wings of an aeroplane. Both wings are needed for the plane to stay in the air and fly. There are so many ways to communicate, to get our words out to the world, face-to-face, Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, phone, mobile and landline, and snail-mail. 1. JAMES 3:1-12 This is a hard-hitting letter from James’ pen. He doesn’t beat around the bush. Throughout his letter James gets right into the everyday stuff that we need to attend to. He is inclusive at the outset, making it quite clear that it’s not only FAITH and DEEDS it’s FAITH and WORDS as well. In ...

Christians meeting together in worship is always purposeful. God never rests from achieving his purposes. If we have decided to become a follower of Jesus then the constant question on our lips needs to be, How then shall I live? When we respond to this question we are cooperating with God in the achievement of his purposes. James in his letter is clear that what we say and do, our words and our deeds, need to be consistent. They are like the wings of an aeroplane. Both wings are needed for the plane to stay in the air and fly. There are so many ways to communicate, to get our words out to the world, face-to-face, Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, phone, mobile and landline, and snail-mail. 1. JAMES 3:1-12 This is a hard-hitting letter from James’ pen. He doesn’t beat around the bush. Throughout his letter James gets right into the everyday stuff that we need to attend to. He is inclusive at the outset, making it quite clear that it’s not only FAITH and DEEDS it’s FAITH and WORDS as well...

Fred Hollows in his updated biography with Peter Corris in response to a question from Caroline Jones, an ABC radio presenter, recalled a moment in his life when he’d been brought up short, to take stock and consider his priorities. He was in Chihuahua, Mexico, suffering from a torn muscle in his leg. He didn’t know what it was – the slightly comic gait he had to adopt, the wholly exotic location with all the remains of Mayan civilisation decaying around him, or the occasional stabs of pain, but he had a sudden insight into the nature of things as far as Fred Hollows was concerned. The enlightenment was two-pronged. Firstly, he realised that it didn’t matter if he didn’t publish anymore scientific papers as he had already made a respectable contribution to ophthalmology and he didn’t need to feel threatened from that direction. Secondly, he perceived with great clarity that it was against his nature, and ultimately negative, for him to participate closely in academic and administrative...

Fred Hollows in his updated biography with Peter Corris in response to a question from Caroline Jones, an ABC radio presenter, recalled a moment in his life when he’d been brought up short, to take stock and consider his priorities. He was in Chihuahua, Mexico, suffering from a torn muscle in his leg. He didn’t know what it was – the slightly comic gait he had to adopt, the wholly exotic location with all the remains of Mayan civilisation decaying around him, or the occasional stabs of pain, but he had a sudden insight into the nature of things as far as Fred Hollows was concerned. The enlightenment was two-pronged. Firstly, he realised that it didn’t matter if he didn’t publish anymore scientific papers as he had already made a respectable contribution to ophthalmology and he didn’t need to feel threatened from that direction. Secondly, he perceived with great clarity that it was against his nature, and ultimately negative, for him to participate closely in academic and admini...

When respect for the dignity of human beings is omitted from medical assessment, medicine ceases to become a science and is in danger of becoming a set of formulas, as arid and unhelpful as spells, curses and other hocus-pocus. Fred Hollows, Updated Autobiography with Peter Corris This statement struck a cord with me and I recalled another statement by Hans Eisen and Bernard Mulraney in their survey, Impediments to the Adoption of Modern Quality Management Practices (in Australian Manufacturing Industry) Monash University, 1992, “…an attitudinal change is required for success. This should begin with a reappraisal of the intrinsic worth of the individual at all levels.” Fred’s work while identifying the urgent need for appropriate Vitamin A capsules to address deficiencies also calls for a better understanding of how people in the affected societies live. He recalls getting into an argument with a researcher who gained a considerable reputation by showing the dramatic improvement in...