I seem to be constantly bumping into this “ends & means” concept lately. As our ministry has transitioned to a “Policy Governance” model of management, the idea of ends & means has been a never-ending discussion. In the PG model executives must focus on ends and delegate the means. The people on ground level must be equipped and empowered to make the detailed “means” decisions based on the “ends” that come from higher levels of leadership. When this happens, everyone is happy. Of course we are all familiar with the “ends justifies the means” argument as a pitiful excuse for all sorts of immoral, unjust, and illegal activity.
While on the treadmill this morning I was thinking again about ends and means, particularly how Christians today seem to see God as a means rather than as an end. People talk about him as if he is merely a means to heaven, healing, happiness, or whatever they want at the moment. It was not always like this. In the mid-1600s church leaders tried to summarize and simplify the Christian Faith with a series of questions and biblical answers. The result was the Westminster Catechism. The first question asked: “What is man’s chief end”? They started with ends not means. Sadly, too much of Christianity today starts with the means—Bible reading, prayer, generosity, evangelism—and never gets to the ends. These means are certainly good things, but only as they are connected to the proper ends.
What then is man’s chief end? According to the Westminster folks, “man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” There may be a million biblical means to this end. No matter which means we use, the ultimate end for all we do must be the glory and honor of God.