The One Thing that Matters

UV 1085/10,000 The One Thing that Matters

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.



Ecclesiastes 12 v 13


I was recently reading a book by a well known author on management. He said that mankind is in quest of the one essential principle of life, leadership and management that mattered to which all other principles can be subordinated. The idea is that if we can possibly find this one thing that matters in life, we can organize our days around it and develop a laser-sharp focus and not fritter our time, life, efforts and resources away. He was looking for the conclusion of the whole matter- the essence of all knowledge and wisdom. Needless to say it eluded him as he was looking for it in every other book except the book called “ The Book.” When we commit to fear God and obey Him, we are declaring to God, to ourselves and to others that we are people of faith. The alternative is to be people of fate who tell God, “ my life is my own business. You can stay out of it. I will believe what I want to believe. I will do what I want to do. I will reap the consequences or rewards.”

The above uni-verse puts it succinctly - “ Fear God and keep His commandments.” Everything else in life are but sub-texts or sub-themes. Our main goal is to reverence God and His Word. When we fear God, we will fear evil and that amounts to loving life and the good things of life. It amounts to loving oneself and others. Each of the ten commandments of God requires a certain quality of character and certain life-long habits to be built up. The first three commandments would require a person to be faithful, devout and reverential to the extent of not even uttering the name of God in vain or without purpose or context.

The fourth commandment of God to keep the Sabbath holy requires the habit of setting aside time for remembering, thanking and worshipping God in spirit, truth and the beauty of holiness. The fifth commandment reinforces the quality of respect and obedience to one’s parents, the sixth to eschew violence, the seventh to avoid dishonesty in one’s marital relationship and to stay faithful to one’s life partner, the eighth lays the foundation for a belief in the need to rely on honest labour for one’s material needs and not to steal or cheat. The ninth commandment not to bear false witness against anyone instills in one a sense of truthfulness. The tenth commandment inculcates the quality of being contented with what one has and not to covet the possessions of another. Jesus summed up all these commandments and corresponding qualities of character as love for God and love for one’s fellow beings. St Paul further delineated the qualities of love in his epistle to the Corinthian church: that we should not be proud, jealous, bitter or selfish but instead be patient, kind, hopeful, truthful, trustworthy. The whole duty of man is to develop these qualities of head and heart with a lifetime of discipline and obedience to the revealed will and Word of God.

Once we do this one thing-that of fearing God and obeying His commandments and give it top priority, everything else will fall in its due place. Our homes will be blessed. Our relationships will be blessed. Our work will be blessed. Our children will be blessed. Our finances will be blessed. The kingdom of God will be established on earth as it is in heaven. We will flourish and never perish. We might have struggles and reverses in order to test our faith as well as to strengthen it further but be sure we will bounce back.

Prateep V Philip