Classmate ONE: Covey’s approach to organizing life in the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” has consistent themes with a Christian worldview. For example, in the when speaking about the second habit he emphasizes greatly that are minds need to be focused on the future, or the end goal. This is consistent with a Christian worldview because as believers we are to work hard on earth and glorify God with out actions with the end goal in mind. The end goal, for a person with a Christian worldview, is to be in complete unity and presence with God. So, when Convoy mentions having our eyes looking toward the end, it can be related to many aspects of a Christians life. Covey also expresses the importance of knowing what is important to us and keeping that in mind throughout the day to day interactions (Covey, 2016). He believes that keeping our biggest motivation will motivate us to do the truly do what is important in life. Believersshould also live by this principle. Ephesians 2:8 reads,
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” and really shows how amazing the gift of salvation is (English Standard Bible, 2001/2016). Christians should be motivated by this amazing gift to serve and glorify God with their life. The Lord and our relationship to Him should be what is most important when we have a Christian worldview. Daily reminding ourselves about this will help to keep us motivated to do the good works that the Lord has called us to in Ephesians 2:10 which reads, For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (English Standard Bible, 2001/2016)
References:
Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage (original work published 2001)
Covey, R. (2016). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. [Liberty University Online Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://libertyonline.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781633533103/
Classmate TWO:
As I have been reading through Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, one topic really stood out to me and challenged me to think about my life and my problems and the things that I worry about in a whole new way. That topic is our Circle of Concern vs. our Circle of Influence. This idea of compartmentalizing your life into things that you can control and influence and the things that you can’t control and shouldn’t worry about can really alleviate stress and help you focus on the things that you can change, which in most cases is yourself and your attitude. I think that this idea lines up perfectly with a Christian worldview. There are many verses and stories in the Bible that support this topic of believers doing what they can in their situations and surrendering their concern and worries over to God to take care of. For example, Joseph was wrongly sold into slavery by his brothers, and yet even when he was thrown into prison he focused on and faithfully stewarded his small sphere of influence until the prison guard noticed him, put him in charge of the prison and then he was eventually made second in command over all of Egypt. Because he turned over his Circle of Concern to the Lord, God took care of his every need and blessed him by widening his Circle of Influence. Covey shared a story in chapter 1 about a boss who had a lot of strengths but was quite hard to work for. A lot of the emplyees complained and grumbled about him, except for one man who instead of complaining, tried to compensate for the bosses weaknesses which inevitably caused him to work more with the boss instead of under him and expanded his influence in the company. Covey says this: “This mans success was not dependent on his circumstances. Many others were in the same situation. It was his chosen response to those circumstances, his focus on his Circle of Influence, that made the difference.” (Covey. 2020. p. 59) We as Christians not only have this same opportunity, but we have the chance to widen our Circle of Influence for the good of the Kingdom of God. It all starts when we stop focusing on our Circle of Concern, and do what we can with our Circle of Influence.
Covey, S. R. (2020). The 7 habits of highly effective people. Simon & Schuster UK Ltd.
