Saving the Best for Last

Gospel Message & Recording

We have all heard the phrase, “Put your best foot forward.” The meaning of this phrase is: when you begin a task or start a new endeavor in life, we should give it our best, that is, exert all our efforts to the success and completion of what we started. Often, we begin with our best effort, but over time we start to become apathetic. Time takes its toll and we become weary. In other words, we lost the “passion” and “fire” that we started with. We came with “guns-blazing” but now we only have a “single flame.” What happened to what we started?

In the Gospel Reading today, when we reflect on the ascribed passage, which is read at the start of every Great and Holy Lent, Jesus changes water into wine. The context here is that Jesus is at a wedding in Cana of Galilee with His Mother. St. Mary asks Jesus to change the water into wine because the wine that they currently have is about to run out. Jesus does something amazing: He takes the empty jugs, asks that they are filled with water, and changes the water into wine. The wine is so tasty and flavorful that the master of the feast says to the bridegroom, ‘Normally, they give the best wine first, but here, you have saved the best for last.’

There is a psychological effect to “saving the best for last.” That is, whenever we have an experience of any kind, for example, going on vacation, watching a movie, going to dinner to someone’s house, the moments that define our experience are the ones that make us feel good. That’s why to have a “feel good moment” at the end of an experience is the best outcome. Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize winner psychologist, coined the term “peak-end” bias to explain this concept of “saving the best for last.” He explains that a gymnast saves the best move till the end; the best part of the fireworks is at the end. And these are the memories that dominate our experience. We tend to forget the negative experiences that happened in the beginning or middle if the ending is extraordinary. This idea harps back to what I was demonstrating at the start; that is, even if you put “your best foot forward” in starting a certain endeavor in life, if we cannot bring it to a positive conclusion, then we will forever be remembered for our failures, even if the beginning and middle of our lives were filled with successes. No one remembers the “expensive” wine at the start of the party if we end with “cheap” wine. So, make sure if we start something in a certain area of our life, that we carry it through until the end. It’s better to start with “cheap” wine and end with “expensive” wine. In other words, remember that whatever you do in life, take your time, and think before you act. Even if the beginning might seem slow and uneventful--stay the course--and make sure you end well. Don’t try to start with “fireworks” if you feel or know that you are going to end with a bunch of smoke.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss the idea of “saving the best for last.”
     
  2. What type of obstacles enter into the lives that prevent us from “keeping our best foot forward.”
     
  3. “No one remembers the “expensive” wine at the start of the party if we end with “cheap” wine. So, make sure if we start something in a certain area of our life, that we carry it through till the end. It’s better to start with “cheap” wine and end with “expensive” wine. In other words, remember that whatever you do in life, take your time, and think before you act. Even if the beginning might seem slow and uneventful--stay the course--and make sure you end well. Don’t try to start with “fireworks” if you feel or know that you are going to end with a bunch of smoke.” Thoughts? Discuss.
     
  4. What areas of our life tend to start well, but end up messy? What could we do to avoid that? Before we begin a certain endeavor in our lives, what questions should we ask ourselves?