Daily Stop & Thinks

Surprise

“I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.” (Abraham Lincoln)

That’s certainly not a common reaction, is it? There will likely always be people we don’t like (and some who won’t like us, no doubt). Often those people might be in a place where we can’t avoid them, and life can be pretty miserable unless we follow Lincoln’s example. Then we may be very pleasantly surprised in getting to know someone we really hadn’t known well at all.

If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that (Matthew 5:47).

A wise person wins friends (Proverbs 11:30).

Endurance

Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems. (Gever Tulley, educator)

Some people recognize that they don’t have much perseverance. They easily start one project or another with good intentions to complete the task but often fail to do so. Like many of us, they need to learn, as Tulley says, that the ability to stay with the project is a learned characteristic, and it comes from the experience of overcoming life’s difficulties.

We know that (problems and trials) help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character (Romans 5:3-4).

Cooperation

Coming together is a beginning. Staying together is progress. And working together is success. (Henry Ford, early auto manufacturer)

Gathering a group to launch a project or to work together in any meaningful project is only the beginning. The mix of personalities, generational distinctions, and the variety of skills within the group can create differences that are hard to overcome. So, staying together will likely require some compromises. It’s that cooperative give-and-take that will help to reach the goal.

Be of one mind, united in thought and purpose (1 Corinthians 1:10).

Accuracy

Strive to be like a good watch, have busy hands, be full of good works and be clean inside. (J. Davis Illingworth, Sr, retired pastor)

What a great picture of a wholesome, productive life! Watches are often made to be beautiful in appearance with gold cases, jewel studded, and with features like alarms, time clocks, and calendars. These days, watches even count your steps and tell you when you have a phone call. But, the number of features is unimportant if it’s not an accurate timepiece

The Lord demands accurate scales and balances; he sets the standards for fairness (Proverbs 16:11).

Never Give Up

Failure is not a reason to give up. Failure is a reason to try harder and seek new solutions. (Jim Hocking, Founder, Water 4 Good)

When Hocking launched his well-drilling enterprise in central Africa, he and his crew tried lots of ways to successfully supply safe drinking water where it was previously not available. Their attempts were not always immediately successful, but they learned from mistakes and kept working. Now, they are providing good water for thousands of Africans. Keep on trying!

If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small . . . for though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again. (Proverbs 24:10, 16)

Civility

A person of faith…must avoid crude humor, selfish anger, discourtesy, and any action that blatantly disregards the norms of common civility. (William Wilberforce, 18th-19th century English statesman)

Wilberforce’s efforts to restore civility were painful and arduous but eventually were fruitful. We could certainly use another champion like him today. Today’s conversations are often cruel and hateful—sometimes even violent. Unfortunately, it is often people with religious fervor who have lost the self-control that would make their point of view more readily acceptable.

Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech (1 Peter 3:10).

Luck?

A lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all. (Howard Shultz, businessman and author)

Schultz continues, “It’s seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future.” We often wish others, “Good Luck.” Our intention, no doubt, is to encourage them to keep moving forward with the hope that everything will work out well for them. It might be better to challenge them to pursue their ambitions with courage, strength, and perseverance.

Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days (Ephesians 5:16).

With Love

If our zeal is embittered by expressions of anger, invective, or scorn, we may think we are doing service to the cause of truth, when in reality we shall only bring it into discredit. (John Newton, author of “Amazing Grace”)

Although Newton wrote in the 18th century, his words could not be any more appropriate for today. Far too often we read or hear commentary that may be spot-on when it comes to truth, but it is couched in such anger and invective that it is difficult to read and hear, much less to apply. So, let’s learn to be gracious in expressing our thoughts and opinions.

Instead, we will speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

Fragility

We are surrounded by, and are part of, a society of emotionally fragile quitters. (John Piper, author)

People seem to be so easily offended nowadays. We are hurt when someone just hints that we might be mistaken. We fly off the handle quickly at an unintended misspoken word or action. As a result, we too often just give up and quit. Noting this problem, Piper concluded, “We all need help here.” We need to be careful in our speech and actions, refusing to be offended or quit.

If your boss is angry at you, don’t quit! A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes (Ecclesiastes 10:4).

Speaking Truth

Our truth will not be heard until our grace is felt. (Jim Swanson, YMCA executive)

The late Jack Kemp said something similar: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” When someone disagrees with us, we need to be especially careful to “speak the truth in love,” (the Bible) that is, we must be gracious in any correction we offer. Speaking with grace and love will go a long way when sharing truth.

Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone (Colossians 4:6).

Encouragement

Be somebody who makes everybody feel like somebody. (Peg Fitzpatrick, social media author)

What do you remember about the people you’ve been with when you separate? Were you discouraged or upset or did you go away encouraged? Isn’t it great when you walk away, feeling better about yourself and your friends? How helpful it would be if each of us determined to do as author Fitzpatrick suggests: make everybody you meet feel like “somebody.”

Encourage each other and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11).

Wisdom

Wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it. (The Bible)

No doubt, the best test for the veracity of someone’s ideas and opinions is that they prove to be true in experience. “The proof is in the pudding,” they say. As you can tell what kind of tree you’re looking at by its fruit, so you can tell what is real when people’s lives of integrity match with what they say. The walk of a wise person will verify his or her claims of knowing truth.

If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom (James 3:13).