Beginning with the end in mind is one of the attributes of Highly Effective People, as popularized by Steven R. Covey of blessed memory. I couldn’t agree more with his thought position.
What that statement means is that when you see the end before you begin, that understanding guides your speed, the choice of vehicle, the company you go with, and literally every other factor as you prepare for your trip.
Last week on Push Buttons, we learnt about Wisdom and how that Wisdom is the foundational element for stability and longevity. We also learnt about how Wisdom makes success predictable, repeatable, and scalable while we differentiated between the success offered by the world from that which the Lord offers, making it clear that the Success that comes from above is void of side effects.
The reason for this enhanced feature of God’s kind of success is because of the presence of Wisdom. Many people assume that simply because a man is successful (based on the worldly metrics we highlighted last week); e.g smart, rich, connected and famous, then they conclude that he must have succeeded God’s way.
Listen, Friends, success according to the grain of the world is quite cheap; Longevity, Impact and Reward are the ones pretty hard to come by. You can become famous in a minute. That “Lori Iro” Evangelist (such a creative approach to preaching), for example, would never have predicted how famous he would be by now, if he was asked in January 2021. Longevity can not be sandwiched, the impact cannot be pressure-cooked, and Reward cannot be lobbied.
“And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure.” — Isaiah 33:6 KJV
The only thing that guarantees the Success that comes with those powerful dimensions of longevity, impact, and reward is the kind of Success birthed by Wisdom. Now, this Wisdom as advised by Scripture begins with a factor that guarantees longevity; It is called The Fear of the Lord.
In the verse we just checked, the last phrase reads: “the fear of the Lord is the treasure of a man who will be stabilised by Wisdom and Knowledge”. It is abundantly clear in Scripture that the Fear of the Lord begins a man’s journey into Wisdom
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” -Proverbs 9:10 KJV
What is the Fear of the Lord? Remember that Fear is the Beginning of the Wisdom that makes Success Predictable, Repeatable and Scalable. Good!
The Fear of the Lord is very simple in definition; The Fear of The Lord simply means to depart from evil.
“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.”- Proverbs 3:7 KJV
“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.” — Proverbs 8:13 KJV
“By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil.” Proverbs 16:6 KJV
“And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”- Job 28:28 KJV
Need I say more? The Fear of the Lord is not a definition written in words, it is an act performed by men who know it. Those who know it don’t explain it, they do it!
It is not uncommon, especially in our day and age to ask a lady what she wants in a man and hear something like; “I’d like a man that is god-fearing…” it is always the top on the list of qualities. I’m yet to find a lady who doesn’t want a god-fearing man. But statistics show us that many don’t end up with their desired kind of men. Perhaps being god-fearing is different from Fearing God!
To Fear God is to depart from evil.
One man who showed in 3D the Fear of God in his life… I’m sure you can guess; JOSEPH! Joseph was not god-fearing Sir… Joseph Feared God!!! How do I know? He departed from evil. Evil was brought his way, and he ran as fast and as far as he could away from it, he ran so far, he ended up in Prison. He was more comfortable in Prison, away from evil than in the Palace (Potiphar was in charge of the King’s Guards) with evil lurking around him.
This Fear of God is the first brick in founding the sub-structure of Wisdom in a man’s life. Fear God, and you will never have to remember what you said or regret what you did. When you fear God, you position yourself to build a lasting work that will endure beyond your lifetime. Joseph legacy endured so strongly that his prophecy triggered the fulfilment of the promise God made to Abraham hundreds of years before. His bones partook in the Exodus! What a man! His leadership in Egypt was so exemplary that he taught Senators Wisdom.
Wisdom is not about here and now, but much more about the hereafter. When you have longevity in mind, the way you will build today will be different from the man who simply wants to build to survive and not to last. Kenneth E. Hagin as a young Minister in his twenties and early thirties had his contemporaries packing out stadia for their meetings, but the Lord encouraged his heart and told him that long after those men are gone he would be there shining bright and blazing the fire of the Gospel. He would eventually do Ministry for 70 more years before going to be with The Lord. It’s been 18 years since he passed, and till today, he still impacts millions around the world with his Ministry. He began with the end in view.
Any serious Business Management Expert will tell you that TRUST is the single most powerful element for Legacy in Business. Lose it and you lose everything! You can cut corners and make so much money for a while, but it is impossible to break into a generational institution on the back of inequity. Unjust weights and measures cannot sustain longevity.
To build what will last, it takes Wisdom and to begin our journey of Wisdom, we must fear God. I know it’s not the trendiest charge in our generation, but the big question is, do you Fear God? Or perhaps the real question should be, how far do you want to go? And how deep do you want your impact to reach?
I pray the reverential fear of God will invade your heart as seek His Face this new week in Jesus name.
God bless your heart and have a productive week ahead.
Dami Oguntunde
@damioguntunde