Daily Stop & Thinks

Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illumines it. (Martin Luther King, Jr, 20^th century civil rights leader)

The violence and acrimony that we see demonstrated on television in the evening news seems to reflect a growing presence of hatred across our country. Whether it’s racial, political, or religious, it is dangerous and can be fatal to consensus-building and unity. The antidote, of course, is a love that seeks the best for others, not for selfish gain.

Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. (Proverbs 10:12)

I’m not funny. What I am is brave. (Lucille Ball, TV comedian)

“I Love Lucy” was a hilarious, slapstick, TV situation comedy that played many years. Ball says she was “not funny,” which will be a surprise to most of her viewers. Her bravery, however, might be a worthy challenge to someone who has talent but suffers from stage fright or fear of the public. We must take courage to do what we are gifted to do.

Be strong and courageous, and do the work. (1 Chronicles 28:20)

Don’t try to control the situation. Focus on controlling yourself. (Tim Kight, leadership writer)

Some people seem to be control-freaks. They simply must be in charge. In facing difficult circumstances, most of us will do better if we concentrate on disciplining ourselves to respond in a reasoned manner. Kight goes on to say that controlling yourself is “what gives you the power to respond with wisdom and discipline.”

Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control. (Proverbs 25:28)

When you hold resentment, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. (Catherine Ponder, Religious leader and author)

When we are greatly offended by someone, we tend to react strongly, not only to the offense, but to the offender. If we begin to resent them, we make ourselves a prisoner of our emotions, without gaining anything over the offender. It would be so much better to learn how to control our reactions and free ourselves from the resentment.

Resentment kills a fool. (Job 5:2) And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone . . . not resentful. (2 Timothy 2:24)

When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” (Maya Angelou, American poet)

When we give freely at times other than Christmas, birthdays, and anniversaries, there is a greater sense of spontaneity and generosity. It’s a joy we should practice more often. On the other hand, sometimes we find it harder to receive a gift than to give one. We must learn not deprive someone of the joy of giving, but to accept the gift graciously.

The Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

We not only live among men, but there are airy hosts, blessed spectators, sympathetic lookers-on, that see and know and appreciate our thoughts and feelings and acts. (Henry Ward Beecher, 19^th century Congregationalist clergyman)

John Milton, another English writer agrees: “Millions of spiritual creatures walk the Earth unseen, both when we sleep and when we wake.” Neither writer mentions that the unseen spiritual world is not all “sympathetic lookers-on.” The Bible warns us “against … the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12). We must be aware and prepare.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. (Ephesians 6:11)

Common sense can be learned from experience or the teaching we receive from those we trust. (Cindy Hess Kasper, author)

We sometimes lament the apparent lack of common sense in society today. The more “far out” behaviors become, the more widely they seem to be accepted. The result often is poor judgment about the simple realities of life like morality and courtesy. Kasper suggests, “God’s Word is the best source of all to develop discernment and good judgment.”

 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. (Romans 12:2)

He (God) is the still point of the turning world. (T. S. Eliot, 20^th century British poet)

The physical world is constantly in motion—the planets, the stars, even the earth on which we walk. The universe is in a fixed, pre-determined cycle of movement that is beyond our full comprehension. Eliot reminds us that it is all because of an intelligent Creator who put the universe in motion and still keeps its movements accurate and precise.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 40:28)

I want to do to you what spring does with the cherry trees. (Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet-diplomat and Nobel Prize author)

Spring arrives in the Northern Hemisphere today. After a long, hard winter, it is welcome. Perhaps Neruda was referring to the Japanese Cherry Trees that beautify Washington, D.C. each spring. But his thought is deeper than mere trees. If we all were to bless others with spring-like beauty in our words and actions, how beautiful life could be.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

The Vision of the ideal guards monotony of work from becoming monotony of life. (Brooke Westcott, Anglican Bishop and theologian)

You may find your work boring because of its repetitiveness—watching products flow through an assembly line and adding your little part time after time after time. To be alert in such work, you have to visualize the end products. You’re not just adding an insignificant small part, you’re building something of value. Keep your eyes on the end goal.

Not that I have already . . . arrived at my goal, but I press on . . . toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me. (Philippians 3:12, 14)

“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” (from Alice in Wonderland)

Humpty Dumpty sounds like a 21^st century person. Dictionary definitions don’t seem to mean much anymore. We use words in about any way we want, giving them the meaning that best suits our views. But, relativism aside, facts are facts and truth is truth. We all have the same facts, and we must work to express them in accurate and truthful terms.

I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. (1 John 2:21) We cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. (2 Corinthians 13:8)

If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God so as to teach these peoples; even though some of them still look down on me. (St. Patrick, 5^th century missionary)

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, and the Irish will celebrate the “Apostle of Ireland.” Some have said that “St. Patrick’s Day is an enchanted time—a day to begin transforming winter’s dreams into summer’s magic.” But, its significance is much deeper than that. He brought Christianity to the Emerald Isle, and his positive influence lasted for generations.

For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)