Daily Stop & Thinks

STOP AND THINK – Our commitment to integrity can easily be eroded by our love of progress. (Quoted by Tom Roy, attributed to Jonathan Herron)

If patience is a virtue, then impatience must be a vice. We may profess to hold very high standards and to operate ethically, but when a little deviation from the “straight and narrow” promises to help us to progress more quickly toward our goal, we may be strongly tempted to give in. “Just this once,” we think , but it usually is followed by more “slips” in the future.

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out. (Proverbs 10:9)

STOP AND THINK – Think twice before you act. (From Aesop’s Fables)

Many of us are impetuous; we just can’t wait to forge ahead, thinking all will be right. The carpenter’s rule is similarly good advice: “Measure twice, cut once.” Some people think and plan so long, they never seem to get started. But for many of us it’s the other way around. How wise it would be to slow down enough to think carefully before we take action.

Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? (Luke 14:28)

STOP AND THINK – I think the hardest thing in life is to forgive. (Louis Zamperini, late American Olympian and World War II POW)

After suffering pain and privation as a prisoner of war, Zamperini, could say, “Hate is self-destructive. If you hate someone, you’re not hurting the person you hate, you’re hurting yourself.” That’s a difficult but important lesson to learn. Our anger and hatred does little to the one who has hurt us, but it greatly harms us unless we learn this important lesson.

Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs (Proverbs 10:12). Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you (Colossians 3:13).

STOP AND THINK – Are you okay with serving even if you are not the main act? (Mike Lee, American pastor)

We should be grateful for many people who serve us in a variety of ways, and we should try to serves others, too. As in many things, motivation is a key element. Why do we serve? Is it for recognition, an award, perhaps? Someone with a true servant’s heart wants only to help others without expecting anything in return except the satisfaction of being a help.

The Son of Man (Jesus) did not come to be served, but to serve. (Matthew 20:28)

STOP AND THINK – I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time—waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God—it changes me. (C. S. Lewis, 20^th century British Christian apologist)

When we face difficulties and dangers, most of us are inclined to pray. “Lord, save us,” may be all we blurt out when we’re in imminent peril. But Lewis is looking at prayer, not as a last-minute appeal for deliverance, but as a necessary communication with God because of an intimate relationship with Him. Prayer doesn’t change God, but it will change the pray-er.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. (Colossians 4:2)

STOP AND THINK – Creativity comes from trust. Trust your instincts. And never hope more than you work. (Rita Mae Brown, American writer)

Creativity, trust, instincts, hope, work—these are very valuable concepts whose meanings cannot be fully grasped in a sentence or two. Creativity is innate; we all have it to some degree. Trust is only as good as its object, so be cautious about instincts. If hope is only a wishful desire, then you had better work hard to achieve goals.

You should mind your own business and work with your hands. (1 Thessalonians 4:11)

STOP AND THINK – He who does not live in some degree for others, hardly lives for himself. (Michel de Montaigue, 16^th century French essayist)

Montaigue was one of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance. Perhaps he was awakening a more humane element in the current culture. Certainly, his sentiment is worth our consideration. As someone else has said, man is not an island; he must live in context with others. It is in our own best interest, then, to be positively involved in the lives of others.

Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed (Proverbs 11:25). In humility value others above yourselves . . . looking … to the interests of the others (Philippians 2:3-4)

STOP AND THINK – Education, like happiness, is individual, and must come to us from life and from ourselves. (Will Durant, 20^th century American historian and philosopher)

Durant also says, “Do not depend upon teachers to educate you … follow your own bent, pursue your curiosity bravely, express yourself, make your own harmony.” Perhaps the quote is out of context, for surely the author is not saying that we can learn all we need to know by ourselves. It is important, though, to understand that we are responsible for our own learning.

Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance. (Proverbs 1:5)

STOP AND THINK – Happiness is not easily won; it is hard to find it in ourselves, and impossible to find it elsewhere. (Nicolas Chamfort, 18^th century French writer)

Apparently, according to Chamfort, the idea of “happy-go-lucky” is not realistic. Wow, is happiness really that hard to achieve? If it cannot be found outside ourselves, where can a person find it? Since we often make happiness dependent on our feelings or our immediate circumstances, perhaps it can be found only in the spiritual realm.

To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness. (Ecclesiastes 2:26)

STOP AND THINK – A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life. (Muhammad Ali, heavyweight boxing champion)

During childhood and adolescence, we learn a lot about life and we gain the essentials for living. As Ali suggests, however, learning must not stop at a certain age. As we learn, we gain a better perspective on life. People who are constantly learning, whatever their age, are the people who are continually growing, who become successful and fulfilled.

Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning (Proverbs 9:9).

STOP AND THINK – I have always grown from my problems and challenges, from the things that don’t work out, that’s when I’ve really learned. (Carol Burnett, American actress and comedian)

The difficulties we face in life often seem to be insurmountable. When we encounter them, we become discouraged, we want to quit, to just give up. In her life, Burnett discovered that persevering paid off. In fact, it was from those very difficulties that she learned lessons that helped her succeed. Don’t discount problems; let those challenges be opportunities to learn.

Keep your head in all situations, endure hardship (2 Timothy 4:5). Endure hardship as discipline (Hebrews 12:7).

STOP AND THINK – Man is a creature of hope and invention, both of which belie the idea that things cannot be changed. (Tom Clancy, American novelist and historian)

Hope does seem to be inherent in mankind. We are always looking for something better and hoping for the best. Maybe, a lot of that hope is because of our ability to search, discover, and invent. As Clancy suggests, those characteristics ought to encourage us to work for positive change. Things don’t have to stay as they are if we make the effort to improve them.

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:25)