Daily Stop & Thinks

STOP AND THINK – When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everyone will respect you. (Lao Tzu, 6th century BC Chinese poet and philosopher)

It’s hard in today’s culture not to be competitive. Everything seems to be some kind of game. We’re constantly comparing or competing. No wonder, so many people have such deep psychological problems. The pressure is too great. The advice, then, is to just be yourself, not to compare or compete. What peace of mind and self-satisfaction that would create.

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment. (Romans 12:3)

STOP AND THINK – The right response to [suffering] is not pleasure; it’s holiness. (Paraphrased from political and cultural columnist David Brooks)

What’s your first response to pain? How to get rid of it, right? But, if you believe that life is more than just a material, physical existence, you probably also want to discover the purpose of the trial. Surely, it’s not to bring happiness but, as Brown suggests, it may be given to cause us to think beyond the physical to discover God’s higher purpose for us.

God to a suffering Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

STOP AND THINK – We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. (Plato, 5th century BC Greek mathematician and philosopher)

Do you remember what it was like to be afraid of the dark? You felt a lot better when a little night light was left on, didn’t you? Some people grow up, however, pursuing a life that seems to be motivated by fear and evil. Like bugs that crawl out of the woodwork, they scatter when the light is turned on. Such people should turn from evil to God’s light.

People loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19)

STOP AND THINK – The longer we take to make up our minds, the less time there is to enjoy the decision. (Jesse Deloe, teacher, editor)

Today’s thought was prompted by one of Mark Twain’s, “I must have a prodigious quantity of mind; it takes me as much as a week, sometimes, to make it up.” Another word for that might be “procrastination.” But the more we put things off, the more we delay the benefit of achievement. Get the facts, make a decision, and move on.

Letting [God’s] Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. (Romans 8:6)

STOP AND THINK – It is not how much you do, but how much love you put into the doing that matters. (Mother Teresa)

We live in an age of hyperactivity. We seem to have to be doing something always. Our schedules are packed with appointments, games, shows, work projects, and other time-consuming ventures. More important than how much we do, however, is our motivation in doing. We must be concerned about people and how we can encourage and build them up.

Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds . . . [and] encouraging one another. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

STOP AND THINK – If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it — change the way you think about it. (Inspiration Line)

Whether we like change or not, it is something we continually have to deal with. Change is inevitable. There are some things we’d very much like to see changed, and we write letters to the editor, berate the politicians, and besiege the authorities to take action. It would be better to become an agent for change ourselves. If that doesn’t work, it may be time to re-evaluate.

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2)

STOP AND THINK – Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm. (Winston Churchill, 20th century British prime minister)

Failures are a part of life. The successful discovery of every scientist or inventor has come only after repeated experiments and designs that didn’t work. Each provided additional information that ultimately contributed to achieving the desired result. Don’t let failure defeat or discourage you. With enthusiasm, move on to the next task on the road to success.

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal, (Philippians 3:13-14)

STOP AND THINK – Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning. (Denis Waitley, American motivational speaker)

Everyone wants to be successful. Whether it’s in business, the arts, or sports, nearly everyone wants to make it to the top. But success doesn’t come easily. Patience alone, for example, will not usually create a winner. As Waitley says, it’s a patience that persists, that drives on, that takes the next step…and the next. That’s what produces winners.

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us (Hebrews 12:1). We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized (Hebrews 6:11).

STOP AND THINK – Extraordinary afflictions are not always the punishment of extraordinary sins, but sometimes the trial of extraordinary graces. (Matthew Henry, 17th century English minister and author)

When really difficult times hit us, we are inclined to think that we must have really messed up to have deserved the trouble we’re in. And it may be true, of course, that we are suffering the consequences of our bad behavior. But that is certainly not always true. Difficult times may simply be the opportunity to trust God in a new way and experience his amazing grace.

But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction. (Job 36:15)

STOP AND THINK – Knowledge will give you power, but character respect. (Bruce Lee, marital artist and actor)

We must not discount the value of knowledge. We spend our lives learning, and the more we learn, the more capable we should be. Others would disagree with Lee, arguing that it’s not our knowledge but our character that gives us power. All would agree, without doubt, that the greatest respect you can earn is the result of integrity, character without reproach.

Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. (Titus 2:2)

STOP AND THINK – People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built. (Eleanor Roosevelt, late USA “First Lady”)

Experience is a teacher without parallel. We can learn a lot from books, classes, hard study and research, but what we experience personally, we remember with clarity. And if we value the events of our life, we can profit immensely, discarding what was worthless and clinging to what was beneficial in our training.

I said to myself, “Look, I have increased in wisdom; … I have experienced much of wisdom and knowledge.” (Ecclesiastes 1:16)

STOP AND THINK – When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost. (Billy Graham, American evangelist)

Wealth—money, property, possessions—are temporary, so to lose them, while painful, should not permanently affect the loser. When we lose our health, however, it may leave us with lifelong disability. But, as Graham suggests, when we lose character, or integrity, we have lost something of incalculable value. Protect your integrity above all.

[Jesus] said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15)