Daily Stop & Thinks

Words

The sooner our kids can identify what is in the water they’re swimming in, the better. The best place I know of to start is with the definition of words. (John Stonestreet, worldview writer)

Old ideologies and new ones are being argued all across the United States, and Stonestreet expresses a concern as it relates to our children and their education. He has suggested that the debaters are using the same words and terms, but the meanings are often quite different. It would be helpful to define our terms and make sure they align with truth and reality.

Get the truth and never sell it. (Proverbs 23:23)

Jesus: “I . . . came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” (John 18:37)

Mistakes

If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes. (John Wooden, late all-star basketball coach)

No one really likes to make mistakes. We work hard to avoid them. But slipups are a part of life and Wooden suggests that to make a mistake is to affirm that you, at least, are doing something. Elbert Hubbard writes, “The greatest mistake one can make is to be afraid of making one.” So don’t let occasional errors upset you. Learn from them and move on with care.

A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes. (Ecclesiastes 10:4)

Names

You may not be responsible for your name, but you are responsible for what men think when they call your name. (Zig Ziglar, late lecturer)

The names of inanimate objects may not be of great significance. Shakespeare observed that a rose if called something entirely different, would still smell as sweetly as it does with the name “rose.” But names given to people are far more important. They carry deep personal, cultural, familial, and historical connections.        Live in such a way to give your name honor.

A good reputation is more valuable than costly perfume. (Ecclesiastes 7:1)

Choice

Life is a choice – as is how you handle the pitfalls along its bumpy road. (Julie Donner Andersen, freelance writer)

Making choices sometimes is fairly easy: choosing an ice cream flavor, for example. The choice can’t be a bad one; they’re all good. But when hard times come and it’s a choice between two good options and there are only enough resources for one—ah, that’s when it’s really tough. But Andersen reminds us we do have a choice. It may be hard but think carefully and choose well.

A wise person chooses the right road; a fool takes the wrong one. (Ecclesiastes 10:2)

Fighting Battles

Don’t waste your precious time and energy fighting battles you cannot win. (Dave Phelps, businessman)

Not fighting those hopeless battles, Phelps says, “[will] make your life . . . much happier.” How many times do we find ourselves, like Don Quixote, fighting windmills of our imagination or real obstacles, hoping to overcome if we just fight hard and long enough? What a waste of time! It would be so much better to identify our real enemies and war against them with God’s help.

We have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles for us! (2 Chronicles 32:8)

Wisdom

If we pay attention, the treasury of wisdom from our elders should astound us. (Tim Sprankle, graduate student)

Sprankle is a young adult who has learned something many young people today have ignored. While there really is “no new thing under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9), every generation seems to think they have to discover or invent new truths. Make friends with someone younger than you and take advantage of the opportunities for your wisdom to rub off on them.

The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old (Proverbs 20:29).

Wisdom belongs to the aged and understanding to the old (Job 12:12).

“Things”

Until we have begun to go without them, we fail to realize how unnecessary many things are. (Seneca, 1^st century Stoic)

Seneca continued: “We’ve been using them not because we needed them but because we had them.” Doesn’t that reflect 21^st century thinking? We probably have a lot of things that we almost never use. And there are others we may occasionally use because they’re where we can see them.  They may be only for our amusements, and we’d be just as well off without them. 

Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind. (Ecclesiastes 6:9)

Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. (Colossians 3:2)

Weapons

In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit. (Anne Frank, diarist)

We’re all subject to the motivations of our human nature, so we often respond to hurt or embarrassment with a quick physical or oral retort. Or we try to outdo one another with a sharp weapon or tongue. Young Anne Frank’s comment is a helpful reminder that such action just initiates an unhealthy cycle that is hurtful to both parties.

A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare. (Proverbs 15:1)

Trials II

Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny. (Nelson Mandela, late president of South Africa)

Who could speak more knowingly to hardships than Mandela who languished in prison for 27 years for his role as an anti-apartheid activist? Later, when serving as president of his country, he demonstrated the truth of his statement. If we could somehow learn to view our trials and difficulties in the same light, without doubt we would be better for it and more prepared to live and serve well.

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. (Romans 5:3)

Trials I

God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn in no other way. (C. S. Lewis, British scholar and writer)

We all have both mountain-top experiences and deep valley trials. When those hard times come, we always want to know why. The Bible tells us that it’s sometimes for our own good, learning how to cope with difficulties and how to trust God during them. But there’s often another reason, too. What we learn can be a great help as we share with others experiencing similar trials. 

[God] comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. (2 Corinthians 1:4)

Leaders

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. (John Quincy Adams, 6^th U.S. president)

We sometimes like to define our terms in rather restrictive ways, but simple observation is often very helpful, too. As Adams pointed out, you can identify a leader not only by the results of his stated objectives, but also by what has impacted his followers. It should encourage others, who may not see themselves as “formal” leaders, to influence them to do their very best, as well.

The words of the godly encourage many. (Proverbs 10:21)

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works . . . [and] encourage one another. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Take Action

It’s one thing to dream, it’s another to lead people in the fight. (Rebecca Bender, non-profit organization leader)

Sensing the great needs of the world, or just those closer to home, we sometimes dream about what could be done to resolve those problems. But dreaming is only a beginning; by itself, it doesn’t accomplish anything of value. Bender would encourage the dreamer to recruit a team to strategize and work hard to meet those needs head-on. 

Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. (James 2:20; 4:17)