“The successful producer of an article sells it for more than it cost him to make, and that’s his profit. But the customer buys it only because it is worth more to him than he pays, and that’s his profit. No one can long make a profit producing anything unless the customer makes a profit using it” (Samuel B. Pettengill).

PROFIT IS ONE OF LIFE’S BASIC CONCEPTS. The root meaning of the word is “an advantageous gain or return, a benefit.” Few of us do anything for purely abstract reasons. Most of the work in the world, including the good work, is done by those who stand to receive some benefit from what they do, if it’s only the good feeling that comes from knowing that one has done something worth doing.

But on the corporate (if not the personal) level, there’s no denying that many people today are ambivalent toward the idea of profit. Somehow, a “non-profit” organization seems more virtuous than any other kind. But clearly, it’s not the pursuit of profit that is objectionable — it’s the unprincipled pursuit of profit. There is nothing dishonorable about the making of a profit, either by an individual or a business, as long as both the “buyer” and the “seller” receive fair value in the exchange, as suggested by Samuel B. Pettengill’s words above.

Years ago, Justice Louis Brandeis described principled profitability in words that still hold true. Think about this: “While [continued absence of profit] spells failure, large profits do not connote success. Success must be sought . . . also in excellence of performance; and in business, excellence of performance manifests itself, among other things, in the advancing of methods and processes; in the improvement of products; in more perfect organization, eliminating friction as well as waste; in bettering the condition of the workingmen, developing their faculties and promoting their happiness; and in the establishment of right relations with customers and with the community.”

But here’s a final thought, and one more important than all of the above. To be “profitable” can mean two things: it can mean gaining something advantageous or beneficial, but it can also mean being advantageous or beneficial. In this second sense, every single one of us ought to strive to be profitable. That is, we ought always to be asking the question: how profitable am I to those who are connected to me?

“He profits most who serves best” (Rotary International).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Half effort does not produce half results; it produces no results. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last” (Hamilton Holt).

GENERALLY SPEAKING, IT IS WORK THAT CREATES WORTH OR VALUE. A violin is worth more than the pieces of wood from which it was made because someone worked to take the raw materials and add value to them. A business, if it had a good year, is worth more at the end of the year than at the beginning because its employees did work which added value to the company. Despite the ageless search of mankind for the proverbial “free lunch,” there really is no such thing. In the whole wide world of human endeavor, there are few exceptions to the rule: it is work that creates worth. Rarely do we “reap” any more from a human product than its maker “sowed” in the making of it.

But if human products have worth, so do human beings themselves, and here we need to be careful. There is a sense in which all human beings have exactly the same worth. Created by the same Creator, we each possess an equal inherent worth. But there is also an acquired worth which we may have, and this depends on what we do with what we’ve been given. Abraham Lincoln and Adolf Hitler both had the same inherent worth, but most folks would say that Lincoln used his life to acquire a more worthy character than Hitler. So each of us needs not only to be grateful for our built-in value as persons; we need to invest serious labor in building a worthy life while we live.

When we’re sizing up the character of others, we need to look below the surface, since appearances can often be deceiving. But there is another side to that truth: we ought not to use outward appearances to deceive others into thinking that we’re worth more than we are. As Aesop said, “Outside show is a poor substitute for inner worth.”

As we said at the beginning, it is work that creates worth. If we want to be people of genuine worth, we’re going to have to work at it. And we might as well admit that work requires sacrifice. To gain the things of highest value, some lesser things will have to be given up. Indeed, the very highest things may cost nothing less than life itself.

“To gain that which is worth having, it may be necessary to lose everything else” (Bernadette Devlin).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“To have his path made clear for him is the aspiration of every human being in our beclouded and tempestuous existence” (Joseph Conrad).

A PATH IS A WONDERFUL DISCOVERY. It indicates that the terrain in which we find ourselves has been explored by someone else. If we follow the path, we will arrive at a place that others have been going to, although we may not know where it is or why others wanted to go there. Consequently, when we find a path in an otherwise trackless wilderness, we feel both safety and mystery. It’s comforting to know that the path may lead us out of the woods, but on the other hand, the end of the path may not be a very comfortable place.

Pathways are promising. Our lives may be compared to a journey through territory that is sometimes difficult, and even dangerous; on such a journey, it is a comfort to have a path to follow. As Joseph Conrad said, “To have his path made clear for him is the aspiration of every human being in our beclouded and tempestuous existence.” There are few things more frustrating or frightening than wanting to get to a certain destination in life but having no idea how to get there. A pathway may not end up where we thought it would, but at least it gives us some direction. “There’s some end at last for the man who follows a path: mere rambling is interminable” (Seneca).

Pathways call for caution. Although pathways can be helpful, sometimes it takes a wise person to know when to follow a path and when to strike out on one’s own. There is a certain safety in following the footsteps of others, but safety shouldn’t always be our main objective. Many of the major contributions to this world have been made by people who weren’t afraid to leave the beaten path and blaze a trail of their own. As André Gide said, “The most beaten paths are certainly the surest, but do not hope to scare up much game on them.”

Yet having a path to follow is often important, and we need to appreciate the value of pathways. But if having a path is important, it’s even more important to create a path that others can follow. Life in this world is not about being served but about serving, and there are few forms of service more profitable than pathfinding. To get through a difficulty and leave a helpful path is a very thoughtful thing to do.

“Pathfinder. A person who goes ahead and discovers or shows others a way” (Oxford English Dictionary).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“Success in life is not how well we execute Plan A; it’s how smoothly we cope with Plan B. And for most of us, that’s 99 percent of the time” (Sarah Ban Breathnach).

MOST OF US ARE QUITE FAMILIAR WITH THE CONCEPT OF COPING. Coping is “the process of managing taxing circumstances, expending effort to solve personal and interpersonal problems, and seeking to master, minimize, reduce or tolerate stress or conflict” (Wikipedia). In everyday language, that means doing the best we can to get by in the midst of less than ideal circumstances.

All of us want a more peaceful world, and we tend to define peace as the absence of stress. But that is unrealistic, at least in the world as we know it now. Peace is not the absence of stress but the ability to deal with stress in the right way. That’s what we should want.

Coping is one of the most powerful ways we can contribute to the quality of our various relationships. Whether it’s in the home, the workplace, or elsewhere, those with whom we interact from day to day need the hope that comes from seeing others cope effectively with difficulties. When we offer that example, we do a fine thing indeed.

But stress often takes the form of frightening circumstances, and consequently, most of us despair of being able to cope because we don’t see ourselves as having enough courage to face life’s fears. But I think that approach puts the emphasis in the wrong place, and I agree with Barbara Deming, who said, “Think first of the action that is right to take; think later about coping with one’s fears.” When doing what is right is our priority, we’ll find that our fears give us less trouble.

The ability to cope involves more than picking up a few handy “coping skills” from a book or a seminar; it requires the growth and development of our most inward character — and that takes both time and hard work. As urgent as it is for us to be able to cope nowadays, there is no easy way to learn to cope. We have to grow up as human beings. We have to acquire strength and resilience of character. And in particular, we have to attain unity of character — harmony between our principles and our practice. If we are not at peace within our own hearts, living consistently with what we say we believe, then we will find it difficult, if not impossible, to deal with Plan B.

“Integrity is essential if we are to cope with life’s difficulties” (Euripides).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“The value of experience is not in seeing much, but in seeing wisely” (Sir William Osler).

IF WE WISH TO MAKE ANY POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE, EXPERIENCE IS SOMETHING WE’LL HAVE TO ACQUIRE. For one thing, without any firsthand experience in dealing with the real world, we wouldn’t know what kinds of contributions need to be made. It takes a certain amount of hands-on involvement with the world before we begin to discern where the most critical needs really are. As Sir William Osler says, it is experience that teaches us to see wisely. But more than that, experience is where we gain the skills necessary to help meet the needs we encounter.

Gaining experience is inconvenient at the very least, and often it goes beyond inconvenience to outright pain. So we tend to shy away from circumstances in which we might gain experience. But we ought not to shy away from them; we ought to welcome them and enter into them. Life has to be lived to be understood. If we don’t gain experience, we’ll never know anything more than the “theory” of living.

But to see wisely and understand life, we have to do more than simply pass through experiences in the world. As Aldous Huxley noted, “Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you.” So we need not only to enter into the experiences that are available to us; we need to think about them, learn from them, and drain from them every drop of wisdom that we can.

The wisest people in the world, however, are not simply those who’ve learned from their own experiences; they are those who’ve learned from the experiences of others. In particular, we need to learn from the mistakes of others. We need to be willing to be warned. So Virgil gave good advice when he said, “Believe one who has tried it.”

Whatever our work may be, we can’t delay doing it until we know how to do it perfectly. Knowledge and skill are essential, but they can’t be gained any other way than by experience. So having learned the fundamentals of our work, and having heard the warnings of those who’ve done it before, let’s dive in and get our hands dirty doing the things that need to be done in the world. It’s a long and winding road that leads to experience. No shortcut has yet been found.

“The work will teach you how to do it” (Estonian Proverb).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“As my fathers planted for me, so do I plant for my children” (The Talmud).

ALL OF US HAVE HAD PARENTS (WHETHER KNOWN TO US OR NOT), AND MOST OF US WILL HAVE BECOME PARENTS BEFORE OUR LIVES ARE OVER. Most of us, therefore, will serve as some sort of bridge between the past generations and those of the future. In our finer moments, what we want is to be a worthy bridge: we want to pass along to our children the best of the parenting that we received.

Doing this is not easy. Parenting is one of the most difficult things any human being ever attempted. And having been told of its difficulty, we may have tried to learn how to do it before we had children, so that when we did have them, we’d know what to do. Yet parenting is a thing mostly learned by doing it. Just as our parents did, we find that we have to learn by trial and error.

Those who end up being good parents are those who are open to feedback, correction, and learning while the process is going on. It takes a commitment to being better parents as time goes by, always being eager to learn anything new that can help us improve. But not only that, good parents are those who realize that the clock is ticking. The skill must be learned as we do it, yet we don’t have an unlimited amount of time to get the hang of it. Our children are growing older every day, and our parenting opportunities are getting fewer.

Many modern parents would do better if we quit trying to use our children as adornments to our own egos and lifestyles and started seeing ourselves as expendable commodities meant to be used up for our kids’ benefit. “Parents are,” as Peter Ustinov said, “the bones on which children cut their teeth.” If we’re so full of ourselves that we can’t see the sense in that, then we’ve got a ways to go before graduating from parent school. Parents must be willing to spend and be spent.

The parent-child relationship is one of life’s primary learning laboratories. It has important things to teach us about the rights and wrongs of human relationships, and about what the good life is and isn’t. It’s worth giving every ounce of the very best effort within us.

“You don’t really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around — and why his parents will always wave back” (William D. Tammeus).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

Oh, say, can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
(Francis Scott Key)

GALLANTRY CAN HAVE SEVERAL MEANINGS, EACH OF WHICH IS INTERESTING. The word comes from the Old French gale, which meant “rejoicing.” So some of the meanings of “gallant” are (1) exuberant or dashing, (2) stately and majestic, or (3) high-spirited and courageous. Also, of course, gallantry can mean consideration and courtesy, especially toward women. Let’s look at that meaning first.

Courteous attention to women. Frankly, I wish it were still possible for a man to be gallant or chivalrous in this sense and his actions not be taken as condescending. Shouldn’t it be possible for a man to pay “courteous attention to women” because he honors them? But unfortunately, the hands of time can’t be turned back, and this kind of gallantry is probably lost forever. It seems to me a grievous loss.

Stateliness and majesty. The “broad stripes and bright stars” that were “so gallantly streaming” in Francis Scott Key’s song must have been a majestic sight to his eyes. In today’s epidemic of informality and casualness, don’t we still need to appreciate a few stately things?

Courage and nobility of spirit. After the previous night’s battle, the flag that Francis Scott Key saw “by the dawn’s early light” was also gallant in that it inspired courage. Mistakes may surely be made in our choice of things to fight for, but we are in a sad state indeed if there is nothing that stirs our gallantry, nothing for which we would fight.

I suggest, however, that the most important kind of gallantry is not the kind that would face an external foe, but the kind that bravely confronts adversaries that are more inward. For every hundred human beings who would be gallant on the battlefield or in the midst of some other physical crisis, there are far fewer who would show courage and nobility of spirit where it counts the most: in matters of the heart. Whatever other kinds of gallantry we need, we need this kind more.

To fight aloud, is very brave —
But gallanter, I know
Who charge within the bosom
The Cavalry of Woe.
(Emily Dickinson)

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way.
(William Wordsworth)

IT’S IMPORTANT TO BE A PERSON WHO CREATES CONTINUITY. For every evil thing in the world that ought to be ended, I believe there are also good things that need to be continued, and it usually takes work on somebody’s part for that continuity to be achieved. One generation does not pass down its heritage to the next without effort and sacrifice. Those who exert the effort and make the sacrifice, thereby ensuring that the best things in life continue, are to be honored, and each of us would do well to place ourselves in their number.

To be a person who helps create continuity doesn’t mean we are opposed to change. There is no question that change is sometimes beneficial. By definition, progress requires change. But the more our lives are characterized by change, the more essential it is for some things to continue. We could not long keep our sanity if everything changed so completely that no day ever had anything in common with the day that preceded it. There have to be some links between yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Some things in our lives must hold steady. We need, then, to have the wisdom to see what those things are — and to lend a helping hand in the honorable work of preserving them.

At the personal level, there are some things about ourselves that need to continue, and one of the best kinds of personal continuity is steadfastness, which means “continuing to try.” That kind of continuity comes from a choice or determination. “Strength is the lot of but a few privileged men; but austere perseverance, harsh and continuous, may be employed by the smallest of us and rarely fails in its purpose. Its silent power grows irresistibly greater with time” (Goethe).

Without continuity, we can’t have any real goodness of character. The person who is up and down and all around, never carrying any of his good deeds over from one day to the next, is not a person who can be counted on. Virtuous character, which is the only kind we ought to be interested in having, requires that we do some things . . . and do them again the next day . . . and keep on doing them every day as long as we live. Continuity is what makes us count-on-able.

“Character is simply habit long continued” (Plutarch).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“Gladness of heart is the life of man, and the rejoicing of a man is length of days” (Ecclesiasticus).

ONE OF LIFE’S MOST DELIGHTFUL EXPERIENCES IS DEALING WITH PEOPLE WHO DO A LOT OF REJOICING. There are plenty of things to grieve about, certainly, and the sorrowful side of life needs to be given more attention than we sometimes give it. But there is also much to be glad about. We don’t do this world justice if we don’t recognize its joys and appreciate the grace they represent. People who do appreciate life’s grace are refreshing to relate to. Their habit of rejoicing restores our sense of wholesome balance and proportion.

It’s a well documented fact that rejoicing is conducive to better health. A merry heart really does make for a long life, and that fact ought to tell us something about our nature. We were built for joy. Our minds and bodies were designed to run on the fuel of gladness, and while we have an amazing capacity to endure grief, that capacity is not unlimited. When we do not rejoice, death hastens toward us.

Rejoicing is one of the best ways in which we can honor other people. If, despite the sadness in my life, I choose to relate to you in a joyful, encouraging way, then by that choice I have said, “I care enough about you to try to maintain a healthy perspective on life. For your sake, I am willing to see the good as well as the bad.”

Rejoicing is, after all, as much a matter of choice as it is a matter of mood. We are not merely helpless victims of our feelings. Confronted with grievous circumstances, we can consciously choose to take a broader perspective. We have a will that is free, and we can determine to live our lives rather than simply let them “be lived” for us.

Most of us miss a good many opportunities to rejoice. Failing to count our blessings, we become blind to everything except our problems. We focus so single-mindedly on certain kinds of emptiness that we forget how full we are in other ways. Whatever heartaches we may have, our heartaches are hardly ever the whole story, and if our priorities are what they ought to be, then it will be no exaggeration to say that “our cup runs over.” Today, let’s not miss the joy of rejoicing.

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those things which he has” (Epictetus).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com

     

“Ethical living is the indispensable condition of all that is most worthwhile in the world” (Ernest Caldecott).

IF WE WISH TO ENJOY THE GOOD LIFE, ETHICALNESS IS NOT AN OPTION; IT’S A REQUIREMENT. If we don’t discipline ourselves and subordinate our impulses to ethical principles, then our life is nothing more than a sandcastle that will be destroyed by the next high tide.

Ethicalness benefits us personally. A few years ago, I wrote a book on the importance of taking God seriously. A radio show producer who was considering having me on her program asked what benefit my book would offer her listeners. “Just the benefit,” I said, “of going to bed at night knowing that you’ve done what’s right about the biggest issue in life.” There are many subsidiary benefits of doing what’s right, but in the end, doing what’s right is right because it’s right.

Ethicalness benefits our families. If you’d like to give your family a remarkable gift but you can’t think of anything to give them, may I suggest this: begin living in such a way that every member of your family can count on you to do the honorable thing, no matter what. You will be amazed how much your family will appreciate that gift.

Ethicalness benefits society. If you live a life of personal integrity, your community will also appreciate it. Indeed, if you’re interested in “community service,” there is no greater service you can render than ethical citizenship, doing whatever is right toward those around you. When you’re gone, you’ll be remembered as a person who could be trusted — and there aren’t many better ways to be remembered.

We frequently hear it said these days that there is no such thing as objective right and wrong and that such things are purely personal. But no one really believes that. If there were nothing more to ethics than subjective opinion and personal preference, society would soon disintegrate, and the fact that everybody still uses words like “should” and “ought” indicates that we know there are some universally binding rules. For ethical standards to be any good, they have to be binding on everybody. The sooner we admit that fact and start submitting to those standards, the better our quality of life will be.

“There is only one ethics, one set of rules of morality, one code: that of individual behavior in which the same rules apply to everyone alike” (Peter Drucker).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com