'Begin with the end in mind'

This is Habit #2 from Stephen Covey's National Bestseller The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey is right in that we don't think enough about how we want to end; if we want to win a game, we need to map out a strategy that will lead us to victory. For the game of life, Covey suggests that we imagine our own funeral--imagine how we want to be remembered by our family and friends, then chart our life accordingly.

Frankly his suggestion doesn't motivate me very much. So what if all my loved ones think well of me after I die? I will still be separated from them; what they think of me at that point will mean very little.

Death takes away the incentive to do right and to live right. If all ends with death, and if nothing else exists beyond the grave, I might as well focus on having a good time while alive! That to me would be the smartest thing if everything ultimately ends in death. But does everything end in death?

Most religions and our own intuition point to 'no; there is life beyond death'. Jesus came to prove it (Matthew 28: 16-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:1-8; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8). Some of us aren't afraid of dying, but even the brave still make choices in life under the shadow of its reality. What Jesus did on the cross undermined the effect impending death has on our psyche (Hebrews 2:15). His defeat of death is ours to hold; we are therefore called to live in liberty and think eternally.

Covey is right to have us look ahead. I just think we should think further than our funerals; and live in a way that such forward thinking merits.