Daily Stop & Thinks

STOP AND THINK – I’ve always felt that the great high privilege, relief and comfort of friendship was that one had to explain nothing. (Katherine Mansfield, pen name of Katherine Murry, fiction writer)

Real friends are trustworthy, respecting each other’s privacy and supporting them in every way possible. Outsiders may want to know why and how, but true friends don’t demand or expect an explanation. Friends patiently wait until compatriots are ready to talk; but, even then, talk is not necessary. The loyalty of friends is invaluable and supportive.

The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy (Proverbs 12:22).

STOP AND THINK – You can observe a lot by watching. (Yogi Berra, professional baseball player and manager)

Berra was well known for his malapropisms. It is not only humorous, but what he said here is insightful. Do we really see what we’re looking at? The same can be true of what we hear. Sometimes we hear someone speak, but we’re not really listening, so we can’t profit from it. This is true, also, about observing and seeing. So, be sure to see what you’re seeing.

This is why I [Jesus] speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand (Matthew 13:13).

STOP AND THINK – What you leave behind is not what is engraved on stone monuments but what is woven into the lives of others. (Pericles, 5^th century B.C. Greek statesman)

This is an ancient observation that remains as true today as ever. While we might think it’s important to be memorialized with monuments and historical archives, what’s of greatest importance is what we leave behind in the lives of those we’ve influenced, not only for their remembering us but for their lives and their social impact.

The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them (Proverbs 20:7).

STOP AND THINK – We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them. (Kahlil Gibran, 20^th century Lebanese-American artist, poet)

As we grow and encounter life, we are preparing ourselves for the future without even realizing it. Our choices now have a direct effect on the experiences we will have perhaps years later. Making bad choices now will likely influence the options we pursue in the future. On the other hand, choosing well in the present will make it easier to choose better later on.

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).

STOP AND THINK – If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrows. (Chinese proverb)

Quite often our anger is expressed in an unexpected moment. Our angry words cannot be taken back, and even if we apologize, the damage has been done, and the hurt may remain for a long time. If we could just control our anger for that moment, as the proverb suggests, we would save ourselves and those we’ve hurt a lot of heartbreak and anguish.

For as churning cream produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife (Proverbs 30:33).

STOP AND THINK – The more you recognize and express gratitude for the things you have, the more things you will have to express gratitude for. (Zig Ziglar, author, salesman, and motivational speaker)

At times it seems that we are living in an age of ingratitude. People are so concerned about their rights and entitlements that they don’t appreciate what they already have or are about to obtain. When we learn to live with an attitude of gratitude, we not only gain an appreciation for what we have, but we begin to see with appreciation what we might achieve.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

STOP AND THINK – Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts. (John Wooden, renowned coach and counselor)

In the search for success, we often think that when we achieve it, we will have finally arrived. However, there is always something more to accomplish. Likewise, when we fail, it’s not the end, either. We must get up from our failures and courageously work that much harder and wiser to achieve a worthy goal that will benefit us and our community.

God holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless (Proverbs 2:7).

STOP AND THINK – Hope: A trusting expectation that God is going to keep His word. (Author Unknown)

Dictionary definition:  to want something to happen or be true and think that it could happen or be true. Sounds pretty indefinite, doesn’t it. To the contrary, biblical hope is a certainty based on God’s Word. His word can be trusted. It’s a critical aspect of faith, trust in what God has said. The bedrock for faith, trust, and hope, then is the Bible, God’s revealed Word.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. … Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful (Hebrews 6:19; 10:23).

STOP AND THINK – Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there. (Will Rogers, humorist and social commentator)

Everyone wants to think he’s “on the right track.” We may need some spiritual guidance to determine what’s “right.” But once we find the truth, we can’t just sit on it. To be right and do nothing with our “rightness,” probably means, as Rogers says, we’ll lose out, and, what’s worse, we’ll never discover what being on the right track can lead to.

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable … think about such things (Philippians 4:8).

STOP AND THINK – As antitoxins prevent the disastrous effects of certain poisons and diseases, thanksgiving destroys the poison of fault-finding and grumbling. (Clinton C. Cox, pastor)

We are certainly grateful for the development of serums that counteract diseases and poisons of various kinds. No doubt, there are thousands of survivors of such life-threatening experiences because of the proper medication. Likewise, in a spiritual sense, there is an antitoxin for depression and dissatisfaction. You can find it in learning to be thankful.

Give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

STOP AND THINK – We often learn more of God under the rod that strikes us than under the staff that comforts us. (Stephen Charnock, 17^th century English Puritan clergyman)

No doubt, all of us prefer the staff (comfort) over the rod (pain). But, if we are honest about it, we would probably have to confess that we’ve learned some important lessons about life while suffering the consequences of our poor decisions and evil deeds. Real comfort comes when we respond to the rod with confession and reformation of life.

A rod and a reprimand impart wisdom. …your rod and your staff, they comfort me (Proverbs 29:15; 23:4).

STOP AND THINK – There is a limit beyond which patience, tolerance and charity toward another’s sin ceases to be a virtue. (David Garland, British law and sociology professor)

Tolerance is a much-used word in today’s society. Some have wrongly used the term to excuse the evil practices of others because they think they are protecting the others’ rights to act as they want. A more lawful perspective considers the importance of forgiving someone’s wrong-doing but also acting to restore him or her to proper behavior.

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you . . . should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted (Galatians 6:1).