Daily Stop & Thinks

Pride/Humility

Pride is a mirror that reflects self; humility is a window that sees others. (Dick Dahlquist, teacher)

With the great emphasis today in raising children to have a good self-image, we may sometimes go a little too far. It’s important, of course, to teach children about themselves and their relationship with others. It’s equally important to help them learn as early as possible how to recognize and respect others. Mutual appreciation is necessary for successful companionship.

Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. (Philippians 2:3-4)

Words

He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. (Joseph Conrad, novelist)

Even strong arguments may be lost because of ill-chosen words. Language is filled with synonyms, and the choice of a specific expression can be critical in an exchange of ideas. Commentator John Stonestreet adds, “Even . . .  if you have to make the word up.” Have a solid argument, and be careful to express it with the right words.

Wise words bring approval, but fools are destroyed by their own words. (Ecclesiastes 10:12)

Difficulties

Providence has hidden a charm in difficult undertakings, which is appreciated only by those who dare to grapple with them. (Anne-Sophie Swetchine, 19^th century Russian mystic)

Many of us go out of our way to avoid difficult situations. We want life to be easy without complex issues that require time, money, and lots of effort to overcome. Yet, as Swetchine suggests, the people who are willing to confront those hard issues and wrestle with them, will often gain so much that they learn to respect the hard times as valuable learning experiences.

God to Paul: “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” Paul: “So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses.” (1 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Principles

If your cause is just, if your principles are pure, and if your conduct is prudent, you need not fear the multitude of opposing hosts. (John Witherspoon, signer of the Declaration of Independence)

Almost anything you say or try to do today will face opposition. Disunity seems to be a part of society. Everyone has his or her idea of what is right and best, and you have to be pretty strong to overcome conflict. Witherspoon’s counsel should be the encouragement to move forward when you are confident you’re pursuing justice in a wholesome and thoughtful way.

People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed. (Proverbs 10:9)

Look Ahead

Don’t look back, you’ll miss the road ahead. (Chris Suitt, pastor)

As a mountain-biker, Suitt learned that “where your eyes go, so goes your front wheel. The bike will go where you’re looking . . . So keep your eyes on the trail if you want to enjoy the ride!” It’s a good application to our ride in life. Looking at the threats around us or constantly looking back will certainly lead to danger and cause us fail to reach the goal.

For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. (Hebrews 13:14)

Choices

Our parents bring us into the world, but in the end, we are responsible for what we become. (Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American writer)

We inherit a lot from our parents, of course: physical attributes and personality characteristics, no doubt. But we can’t attribute our values and conduct to them alone. As much as we’d like to blame them—or others—for our behavior or decisions we must accept responsibility for our choices.

Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. (Proverbs 2:11)

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

Pettiness

Pettiness is the tendency of people without large purposes. (George Will, columnist)

Pastor Chuck Swindoll comments, “Petty people are worse than stubborn; they are negative and rigidly inflexible.” We quickly want to avoid people who are small-minded, always finding reasons not to be involved. On the other hand, being around people who are broad-minded and positive is a great encouragement and incentive to move along with them.

Where there is rebellion in a land, there are many petty and contending rulers; But where there is a wise and intelligent leader, peace and order endure. (Proverbs 28:2)

Relationships

The quality of your life is the quality of your relationships. (Anthony Robbins, life coach)

What brings the most joy and pleasure to your life? Your new car? Your well-decorated home? Your job and career? These are all good, of course, and they are very likely important to your feeling of well-being and worth. But those good things can bring only a limited measure of real satisfaction. It’s loving and caring relationships that will provide a more solid quality to life.

Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble. (Proverbs 13:20)

Learning

Some [people] not only have closed their minds to new truth, but they sit on the lid. (Dale Turner, author)

He also said, “The greatest of all faults is to be conscious of none. . . Those who believe they have ‘arrived’ believe they have nowhere to go.” As we grow physically, we need also to grow mentally. No one knows it all. That’s one of life’s great joys and opportunities: to enjoy learning and to discover new things and ideas. Failure to do so is to stifle ideas and progress.

Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge. (Proverbs 18:15)

Tomorrow

The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. (Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32^nd U.S. President)

Most people have high hopes for tomorrow. Little Orphan Annie sang, “The sun’ll come out… Tomorrow so ya gotta hang on ’til tomorrow… You’re only a day away.” It’s a pretty good reminder that today’s doubts and fears won’t stop the future. Roosevelt continued with a good challenge: “Let us move forward with strong and active faith.”

So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:34)

Never Give Up.

It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up. (Babe Ruth, early baseball star)

No doubt, Ruth played with a lot of good athletes, some of whom made it big in sports and others who faded rather quickly. His statement highlights one of the important differences between success and failure: never give up. Endurance, perseverance, old-fashioned “stick-to-itness”—whatever you call it—is an essential to winning; it’s “hard to beat.”

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. (Galatians 6:9)

Words

I will speak ill of no man, and speak all the good I know of everybody. (Benjamin Franklin)

The 19^th century pastor and writer C. H. Spurgeon also wrote, “If there were no gratified hearers of ill reports, there would be an end of the trade of spreading them.” These observations provide possible solutions to the disunity we see and hear all around us today. We would do well to follow the admonition, “If you can’t say something good about a person, don’t say anything.”

The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain. . .[they] encourage many. (Proverbs 10:11, 21)