Daily Stop & Thinks

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)

STOP AND THINK – The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love, and loyalty. (Zig Ziglar, late motivational speaker)

We should ask ourselves, “How many of those six ‘foundation stones’ are characteristic of my behavior and attitudes?” It might be said that five of them are a pretty good definition of the other one, character. The person, who is honest, demonstrates integrity and loyalty, and practices faith and love would certainly be recognized as a person of sterling character.

The proverbs of Solomon [are] … for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair. (Proverbs 1:1-3)

STOP AND THINK – Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all. (Sam Ewing, newspaper reporter and writer)

When you are faced with a difficult task, something that will require hard work, how do you respond? Ewing suggests three scenarios. Which one describes you best? The person of character will accept the task and will set about to accomplish it as effectively and efficiently as possible. We’d all like to have people with such character work for us.

All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. (Proverbs 14:23)

STOP AND THINK – A man’s character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation. (Mark Twain, American author and humorist)

When you hear someone repeatedly use inappropriate language (curses, suggestive innuendo, etc.), don’t you sometimes wonder what that person is really like? Is their thought-life cluttered with such trash? Twain might be giving us a good clue in evaluating someone’s true self, their character. Keep your mind clean and you won’t have to clean up your mouth.

Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. (James 3:2)

STOP AND THINK – Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. (Helen Keller, deaf and blind American author and lecturer)

If anyone ever demonstrated he truth of that statement, it was the author. Ease was never her lot in life. Her trials and suffering were beyond what most of us will ever experience. Yet, she overcame those lifelong difficulties and displayed amazing abilities in spite of handicaps. Above all, she became an amazing example of strong character.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against . . . the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil. (Ephesians 6:12)

STOP AND THINK – The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience. (Harper Lee, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist)

Although the pressure to conform, to follow the crowd and its fashions may be great, what you decide to do in any given situation is your own choice—no one else’s. You may seek the advice of trusted counselors and advisors, but ultimately, you have to decide. Yours is the only vote that counts. Wise choices result in a clear conscience and show strong character.

[Moses] chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. (Hebrews 11:25)