Daily Stop & Thinks

STOP AND THINK – Don’t be a dark cloud on a sunny day. (Television commercial)

Do you know anyone like that? Things are going well; you’re happy and doing fine, and wham! Somebody comes along and ruins your day with their unhappiness, pouring out their misfortune or bad attitude on you. Wouldn’t you rather be the person who brings sunshine and hope into another’s life? Make it your purpose for today.

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. (1 Thessalonians 5:15)

STOP AND THINK – To feel valued, to know, even if only once in a while, that you can do a job well is an absolute marvelous feeling. (Barbara Walters, American broadcast journalist)

We all want to succeed at something, to do really well, and to be recognized for our achievement even if it’s only in a little thing. It does something for our self-image. Knowing that, it would be good for all of us to lend a hand to others by helping them succeed in a worthy endeavor so they can have their moment of “feeling valued.”

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. (Ephesians 4:29)

STOP AND THINK – Character is much easier kept than recovered. (Thomas Paine)

We all stumble from time to time. It’s important that we forgive those who stumble and try to get back up. When the fall is because of moral or ethical failure, it is much more difficult to regain trust. We must be on our guard to maintain the highest standards of personal conduct. That’s easier than trying to regain the confidence of others after a fall.

If someone is caught in a [fall], you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)

STOP AND THINK – The supreme test of goodness is not in the greater but in the smaller incidents of our character and practice. (F. B. STOP AND THINK – Meyer, 19th & 20th century British pastor and evangelist)

The Bible says it’s “the little foxes that ruin the vineyards.” Many times it’s not the big trials that cause us to stumble, it’s the little things. Sometimes we can uphold our reputation in the face of big problems when others are watching, but lose it when we get home. To be tested in little things, shows whether we can be trusted with the bigger. Watch out for the little things!

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. (Luke 16:10)

STOP AND THINK – Reputation is what you have when you come to a new community; character is what you have when you go away. (William Hershey Davis, 20th century seminary professor)

Since you never have a second chance to make a first impression, it’s important to begin any new relationship with a good reputation and from then on, prove to others that you really are what you seem to be. It’s equally important not to misjudge others before knowing them awhile. It’s important that one’s reputation is matched by a life of sterling character.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. (James 3:13)

STOP AND THINK – Every man has three characters: that which he shows, that which he has, and that which he thinks he has. (Alphonse Karr, 19th century French critic, journalist, and novelist)

The “character” we show is our reputation. The “character” we think we have is our self-image. Our real character is the integrity or lack of it that we have. We all want to think well of ourselves and hope that others do, too. But the real question is, what are we really like on the inside, where no one else can see—but God?

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

STOP AND THINK – You can’t dream yourself into character; you must hammer & forge yourself one. (James Froude, English biographer, historian, and editor)

As much as we might like to think that by studying and trying mentally to develop good character, it just doesn’t happen that way. Like most qualities, it takes experience and trials to cultivate integrity. Character must be tried in adversity and hardship to demonstrate its reality. Such a quality is seen only when it is put to the test.

You know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:3-4)

STOP AND THINK – What a man’s mind can create, man’s character can control. (Thomas Edison, 19th-20th century American inventor)

Is Edison saying that a creative inventor would naturally see that his creations were put always and only to moral purposes by ethical means for the good of society? More likely, he was implying that inventions will be put to good and proper use only if the inventor is a person of good character.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. (James 3:13)

STOP AND THINK – The proper time to influence the character of a child is about a hundred years before he’s born. (William R. Inge, 19^th-20^th century English author and Anglican priest)

If poverty is generational, so can moral integrity and character be. What Inge wants us to realize is the importance of living a life of integrity that will instill character into the next generation and beyond, firmly establishing our grandchildren and theirs. How are you influencing your posterity?

[Put my commandments] on your hearts. Impress them 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 6:6-7)

STOP AND THINK – The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically… Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education. (Martin Luther King Jr.)

Education is certainly an essential element in our growth and maturity. Along with the accumulation of knowledge, we must gain understanding and use what we’ve learned. We haven’t taught if the student hasn’t learned—not just the “facts” but the ability to apply the facts in keeping with an ethical standard.

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

STOP AND THINK – Men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters. (Edmund Burke, 18th century Irish statesman and philosopher)

When we do not have control of ourselves and become passionate beyond reason, we easily become the victims of our own excesses. Learning “moderation in all things” is tough, but it can save us from becoming prisoners of our intemperance.

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 – The best things in life aren’t things. (Art Buchwald, 20th century American humorist)

Is this just merely simplistic or is it deeply profound? Looking around; it appears that accumulating “things” really is most important to many of us. Someone has said, “We don’t need more than one of everything.” Really? Do we need even one of everything? There is a great need—not for things—but for good stewardship of all we have been given.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth . . .but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:19-20)