Start with the "in"

“That quote sounds almost Biblical,” I told my husband as we stopped by a granite bench in the University of Idaho arboretum in Moscow, Idaho. It’s a beautiful place with trees and bushes from two continents and several ponds, laced by strolling or running trails.  Throughout are stone “resting benches” bearing aphorisms or memorial dedications. This one read:

He best builds lives of other men

Who starts from within.

--D. Howard Doane

Researching the name, I learned Dr. Doane died at age 100 in 1989, and was known for his work in agriculture.  Of course, both the University of Idaho and next-town-over Washington State University train agri-scientists. Doane had three honorary doctorates and distinguished himself as an agricultural expert in government (under President Hoover) and the educational and private sector. He headed a huge agricultural research and management company for years. No wonder this quote, with its implication for managers, became part of his written legacy.

Doane’s quote reminded me of the scriptural truth that a man’s behavior is a mirror of his heart.

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life;

Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.

Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.

Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.

Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. (Proverbs 4:23-27 NIV)

Or, as Jesus reiterated in His appraisal of the Pharisee’s attempt to cover up dark hearts with spiritual rule-keeping like ceremonial washings:

“The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.  These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’” (Matthew 15:18-20)

I’m not familiar with any of Doane’s teachings or writings. But that one little quote speaks loudly of how grooming a leader must begin with the inner life. And so must “growing” a Christian witness!

As a side note, in 1905 he and ten other young men in a Bible study at the YMCA in Columbia, MO., decided to rent a house and live together while attending the University of Missouri. Not wanting to associate with the values of Greek fraternities, and wanting to support one another in their agricultural studies, they pooled their money and rented a house they called “Farmhouse Fraternity.” In those early years, they barely kept going with their meager finances. But the idea spread across the nation, with WSU’s version starting in 1955 and UI’s in 1957. Commitment to leadership excellence and an alcohol-free environment are among its historical distinctives.