Daily Stop & Thinks

STOP AND THINK – Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. (Walter Anderson, 20th century American artist, writer, and naturalist)

Anderson goes on to say, “I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have – life itself.” It’s a choice we may all have to make at some time: give in to the hard trials and give up or determine to overcome adversity and value the life we can have.

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life. (Deuteronomy 30:19)

STOP AND THINK – Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character. (Albert Einstein, 20th century German-born theoretical physicist)

Einstein is remembered for his great mind and his scientific discoveries and research. While not noted, particularly, for his philosophical views, today’s statement is significant. It demonstrates once again how important attitudes are, for they are among the very few things we can control. Strength in attitudes that are right and proper will develop strong character.

You were taught … to put off your old self … [and] to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God. (Ephesians 4:22-24)

STOP AND THINK – Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. (Abraham Lincoln)

Times of trial may be good tests of your integrity. How do you react to troubles? What attitudes do you demonstrate and what is your behavior like? Lincoln thought highly of people, believing that they can respond well to difficulties, but his greater concern was how people respond when they are given authority and power. Good observation!

When the righteous triumph, there is great elation; but when the wicked rise to power, people go into hiding. (Proverbs 28:12)

STOP AND THINK – What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality. (Plutarch, 1st & 2nd century Greek historian and essayist)

Experience should teach us that what we are internally (mind and heart) ultimately determines how we behave outwardly. What we do in reality demonstrates what we really are. So, in addition to improving our physical skills—which, of course, we should try to do—we must work on the inner self, improving our mind, intellect, and character.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2)

STOP AND THINK – The best index to a person’s character is (a) how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and (b) how he treats people who can’t fight back. (Abigail van Buren, late advice columnist)

Being nice to people who are nice to us is easy. Treating people well who can do us some good in return is also easy. It’s the converse of these behaviors that is so much more difficult and will demonstrate our inner qualities—our character. We should determine to practice the “Golden Rule,” treating well with love and kindness those who may not act well in return.

Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:31)

STOP AND THINK – Character is the desire to do what is right as God defines what is right regardless of the consequences. (Mike Lee, American pastor)

We might be tempted at times to do what is right because it is easy and there are no adverse consequences. But, what if doing right may put us in jeopardy because it’s not political correct or it isn’t the popular thing to do? Character begins with discerning what is right (the Bible is a big help here) and continues with pursuing the right, whatever the cost.

May integrity and uprightness protect me because my hope is in [God]. (Psalm 25:21)

STOP AND THINK – A single newspaper report gives your Reputation; a life of toil gives you your Character. (William Hershey Davis, Welsh poet and writer)

Your so-called “15 minutes of fame” will establish some kind of reputation for you. Whether it’s an article in the daily news or a TV report, people will think they know you on the basis of what they’ve read or seen. But that may not represent the real you, the person whose character has been established over a long period of faithfulness and integrity.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. (Proverbs 3:3)

STOP AND THINK – A man’s character is his fate. (Heraclitus, Greek philosopher of the 6th century B.C.)

What did the ancient Heraclitus mean? Was he implying that you can’t do anything about your character because it’s the result of something outside yourself? Or, was he indicating that our destiny is determined by the character we establish during our lifetime? The latter seems more biblical: what we are now gives evidence of what we will be later.

We are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him. … All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. (1 John 3:2-3)

STOP AND THINK – One’s mere word should be as trustworthy as a signed agreement attested by legal witnesses. (Curtis Vaughan, late seminary professor and author)

Why are legally complex contracts necessary today when once you needed only a handshake or a man’s promise? That could be true only because the character of those making the contract was beyond reproach. Their reputation guaranteed the fulfillment of their promise. Regrettably, such integrity seems all too scarce in modern society.

Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” (James 5:12)

STOP AND THINK – The quest for character requires that certain things be kept in the heart as well as kept from the heart. An unguarded heart spells disaster. (Charles Swindoll, pastor and author)

What we are and become is the sum of all that we take into our heart (mind). But that’s not all. Equally important is what we don’t allow to enter into our thought patterns and become a part of our makeup. It is important to set boundaries on what we read or see and the activities we pursue so that our minds do not become filled with what is harmful and destructive.

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23)

STOP AND THINK – Integrity characterizes the entire person, not just part of him. He is righteous and honest through and through. He is not only that inside, but also in outer action. (Kent Hughes, pastor and author)

Some people like to compartmentalize their lives. They want to put family, work, hobbies—even religion, into separate parts. Integrity, however, must be the basis of every aspect of life or it isn’t integrity at all. What we really are in our minds and hearts will be reflected in our outward activity, so we’d better learn to integrate integrity fully into our lives.

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:18)

STOP AND THINK – If we want our children to possess the traits of character we most admire, we need to teach them what those traits are and why they deserve both admiration and allegiance. (William J. Bennett, former U.S. secretary of education)

Character doesn’t grow naturally like the fictional Topsy. As in the learning of many other qualities, character is best “caught” rather than “taught.” Parents and mentors should teach what character is and how one best achieves integrity, but the living example of those positive qualities is the best means of passing them on.

Impress [my commandments] on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:7-8)