September 23, 2001

The sales manager of a highly successful company was asked about his method of training beginners. He said he makes it a point to stress the importance of being a "HOW" thinker rather than an "IF" thinker. The "IF" thinker, he explained, will brood over a difficulty or a setback and say bitterly, "If I had only done this or I had only done that!" A "HOW" thinker, on the other hand, will look at that same obstacle and say, "How can I do better the next time?" "How can I use this to my advantage?" If they think in terms of "HOW", and not "IF", the manager said, they will set sales records.

Gene Tunney began his boxing career as a hard puncher and many of his victories were knockouts. When he went on an exhibition tour as a member of the Armed Forces during WWI, he broke his hand. The doctor and the manager told him he could never punch as he once had. The break revealed a condition that would forever leave him brittle hands. Tunney's dream of being a heavy weight champion of the world seemed to be over.

Tunney, not the leasat dismayed, said, "If I cannot become the champion as a puncher, I will make it as a boxer!" So Tunney went to work as a student of the art of self-defense. He soon became one of the most scientific boxers ever to step inside the squared circle. His newfound skills enabled him to outbox Jack Dempsey for the heavy weight championship of the world. He found a way to achieve his dream by becoming a "HOW" thinker.

In today's Gospel parable, Jesus seems to condone dishonest behavior commending the steward who cheats his master by altering invoices. What we need to understand is that Jesus is not condoning his dishonesty of cheating. He is recognizing the positive fact that the steward did not sit back and bewail his sad fate. He asked "How can I pick myself up and start anew?" and immediately came upon a way to make the best of a sad situation. The steward was a "HOW" thinker and not an "IF" thinker.

SO THE QUESTION: HOW DID JESUS APPLY THE "HOW" PRINCIPLE IN HIS LIFE?

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