being pursued. The agenda, from start to finish, is shaped by the end.”5 Machiavelli’s classic masterpiece The Prince clearly illustrates how the end goal determines an ethical system. If the goal is power, then characteristics that are conventionally viewed in negative terms turn into virtues: whatever is necessary to gain and maintain power is not only expedient but in fact virtuous. By contrast, the starting point for Christians, as well as the end goal, is God’s own glory and excellence (2 Pet.