MENTAL DIET
DOES THE END JUSTIFY THE MEANS?
One hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in my bank account, nor what my clothes looked like. But the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of someone.
-Anonymous
The universe is governed by two kinds of law: physical law and moral law. These laws are universal, timeless, and self-evident; no one can dispute or contend with them.
For instance, the law of gravity is a physical law. You can’t jump from a ten story building just for the fun of it. If you do, you will suffer grave consequences.
This holds true irrespective if you believe in the law of gravity or not; even if you are ignorant of this law, intuitively you know you can’t jump from such a height just for the fun of it. In order to ensure that the law of gravity works for you, you need to align yourself to it, but if you choose to disobey its principle, it will work against you; and you will not be able to determine the consequence.
In like manner, there also exist moral laws or principles that govern the consequences of our actions. These laws are embedded in the principle of cause and effect—sowing and reaping.
Our thought seeds; word seeds and deed seeds produces our life’s harvest. Aligning yourself to these moral principles guarantees a life of happiness, fulfillment, and permanent success.
In the highway of life, winning is not the ultimate. The ultimate is winning in the right way. Invariably, the end never justifies the means, but rather the means qualifies or disqualifies the end.
The means is what empowers the end to produce enduring results. The means is a process, the end is an event; the process outlives the event and gives credibility to the event. The event may fade, but the process sticks. It’s the means (process) that give value to the end (event). The means and the end are wrapped up in each other; they are inseparable.
Unfortunately, many people crave for the end (event), and despise the quality of the means (process). They want to grasp at the fruit (end) without giving attention to the roots (means). Little do they know that the root determine the quality of the fruit.
If we accomplish a worthy end through an unworthy means, we trigger off an effect that will lead to negative consequences.
Remember,the end does not justify the means but rather the means qualifies or disqualifies the end.