Winning through Discipline and Diligence

I remember a story by Leo Tolstoy in which the devil wishes to deceive and lure Ivan the Fool. After failing many attempts to lure him, he finally proposes to teach Ivan and all the fools how to do brain-work. He says that they who work with the mind can do better than they that work with the hands. This interests Ivan the Fool who remarks that he wanted to learn how to work with the head so that it'll help when they're tired working with the hands. So, the fools gather around the devil who ascends to a tower and begins his lectures on how to work with the head. They wait and wait and wait, until someone asks "Has he yet started working with his head?" to which another responds "No, he's just been talking all along." So, they all start leaving because they can't leave their works and listen to speeches when he promised them to show them how to work with the head. After three days of lecturing, the devil is exhausted and hungry. He asks for bread, but the people say that if working with the head is better than working with the hands, then he should be able to procure his bread thereby. The devil, finally, can't take it anymore and falls down hitting his head against a pole. Someone, exclaims "Oh, he's started working with the head." And, people rush to him as he keeps tumbling down and down. But, then, suddenly there's a hole in the ground and the devil disappears out of the sight. He has lost.

The lesson is that simple-mindedness with manual labor has great gain than philosophizing about the universe and doing nothing with the hands.

Following are few proverbs from the Bible about the same:

"He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich." Proverbs 10:4

"The hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced labour." Proverbs 12:24

"The soul of the lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich." Proverbs 13:4

"The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty." Proverbs 21:5

However, this doesn't mean that intellectual reasoning is not important. For instance, Jesus Himself taught that a person should first calculate his budget before beginning to build a house, because it would be bad to begin something and not be able to finish it because all resources were depleted half-way. And, winning is certainly about finishing something. No one gets a prize for just beginning a race; one gets it for finishing it and winning it. Therefore, proper thought should precede proper action. Even the Buddha talked about "Right Views" before "Right Aspirations" and "Right Action".

Secondly, diligence is the result of a disciplined mind. The mind is a horrible wanderer. You may know the story of a man who went to hunt a lion; then, finding the traces of deer, turned to follow them, then finding that of a boar, turned to it, until by the end of the day, he could hunt nothing. That's what an undisciplined mind does. One believes something is right today, and changes it tomorrow. One speaks one thing before one person with strong reasoning, and changes it later on. If you want to reach the shore, your boat should follow the compass, and work the rudder and the sail. You can't just keep on tossing from wave to wave and play the yo-yo between winds of the world all the time. Care not for what people say. Follow the truth. Guard your heart. Believe the right thing. Act with honesty, truth, and diligence, and prosperity is in your way.

Set up goals. Plan carefully and determinedly. Carry out the work with diligence, discipline, and determination. Win through discipline and diligent action!

© Domenic Marbaniang, February 2011

Poll Results: Are all Mission Fields Harvest Fields?

On Monday, April 30, I started a poll on the following question: Jesus said: "The fields are ripe for harvest... I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor." (Jn 4:35,38) DOES IT APPLY 2 NON-JUDEO LANDS AS WELL? They don't need preparation and sowing? Rather, they are as equally ripe for harvest as Judea-Samaria was because of previous labor by somebody (local indigenous religions and prophets!)? A total of 18 votes were cast with the following main results: YES = 9 I believe it wherever the gospel is preached and people respond. = 5 NO = 1 I'M NOT SURE = 0 One Scholar responded saying: "I think God's Spirit is at work with all people all the time through various way, and sundry ways as Hebrews says. hence they are ready for harvest... but the church is too slow to go." A Pastor responded saying: "I do believe that even in the remotest areas, the fields are alread...

Rocketing Prices Make Vegetables and Fruits a Luxury in India

Prices of agro-products soar higher in India, making fruits and vegetables almost a luxury. The Times of India reports: "The price of almost every vegetables except onion and potato has gone up to 25 to 30 per cent in the wholesale market and retail price staggering up to 45 to 50 per cent. A random market survey revealed an increase in the price of spinach to Rs 40-45 from Rs 10-15 kg a few days back. "The price of tomato has gone up to Rs 55-60 from Rs 40 a kg and capsicum to Rs 60-80 from Rs 40 per kg at the start of this month. The price of onion has gone up to Rs 20 from Rs 15-18 per kg but still remained steady in the market. "Variation between the wholesale prices and retail prices is staggering between 25%-30%." (Lucknow: July 17, 2009). Lauki (bottle gourd) went from being Rs. 7-10 per kg to Rs. 40 per kg. The price of lentils has shot up to Rs. 85 per kg from Rs. 40-45 per kg. The saying "dal bhat ab ameeron ka khana hei" (lentils and rice are n...

Three Divisions of Philosophical Theology

Also discussed as "God of the Rationalist or God of the Empiricists " at Philpapers.org Philosophical theology can be basically divided into three classes: Rationalist theology, Empirical theology, and Intermediate Theology. Rationalist Theology includes isms such as monism (e.g. Parmenides and Zeno) and non-dualism (Advaitins of India) whose assertions are usually supported by arguments that rationally dismiss experience as false and irrational. This they do with reference to ultimate concepts such as unity, necessity, infinity, immutability, and transcendence (none of which can be predicated of the things of experience). Thus, God becomes the "wholly other" transcendent reality that can only be talked about via negativa. Empirical Theology, on the other hand, is quite the opposite of the previous. It actually brings religion down to the earth. The gods and goddesses are more human like, and earthly; and, of course, positively understandable in empirical categor...

Marbaniang, Domenic

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