Daily Stop & Thinks

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)

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)