Sunday, November 11, 2007

QUALITY

IT IS AN ENDURING feature of life. It brings consistent results in the tangible life; it’s a golden rule for the intangible. It could also be translated as one form of definite truth. It brings together many good, wholesome, and trustworthy things. We see its work through the ages, through history. We see how it has worked for people, situations, and nations.
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“It” is quality. It is like wisdom. It’s always there, it’s always been there, and if I were a betting person, I would suggest it will always be around. It is enduring. It abides by the law of cause and effect. It could almost be synonymous for wisdom.
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Quality as a truism of life: The business world has applied the principles of ‘quality management’ for years. I remember the quality revolution of Total Quality Management (or TQM) in the early 1990s where ‘variation’ in the production process could all but be eliminated through the scientific method of quality management—the simple application of the study of truth; these fundamentals continue to exist today. It can be trusted to bring results. It works—always. We see this in our world through some very common-place things.
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Quality goods and services: There is evidence all around us of “good stuff”—things we might buy or acquire, whether they be material things or the means to those things that give us that sense that we’ve received value. Ah, that word value. Value and quality go together don’t they? There’s nothing like that feeling of wellbeing that one gets from experiencing value. There’s a contentedness that comes with it. It is a blessing for wise action, or at least a consequence based on it.
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But, wait; there is more on quality… the promises of quality should we choose to accept them. It is never too late, unless it is (too late)—to experience these promises of quality.
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Quality life / quality of life: The greatest prize in life is life itself. A no-brainer. But what is ‘life’. Life is breathing, and functioning; it is physiological interchange. It is regeneration. But that’s not all. Sure, from a purely physical and visual outlook, life is only biological, anatomical, physiological. But what about our spirit’s? What about the spiritual life that almost all of us identify, and transact, with.
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Every time I start thinking on this subject I start to think about Jesus’ statement in John: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Abundant life. That is what faith in Jesus offers, one day at a time. What is this abundant (quality) life? I think it commences with receiving things in thanksgiving instead of yearning for, or grasping things. All my life I have battled with self-control. One day at a time I am mastering that now because to live the abundant life has better rewards than that of grasping things: food for instance. It takes a certain peace or serenity within the self to enjoy life without succumbing to the internal pressures of our desires, one moment at a time.
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Quality as a marker for success: The Hebrew word Hattah means literally, ‘miss the mark’ or ‘left wanting’—like an archer shooting an arrow toward a target, when they miss the bullseye they ‘fall short’ of the best result—they miss the mark. Quality is hitting the mark consistently—perhaps not every single time—but consistently enough to be able to trust the result most of the time.
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© Steve J. Wickham, 2007.
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