Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 10 – No. 0408 January 26, 2008
Thought for the week: "No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else" – Charles Dickens
"You were born an original. Don't die a copy." – John Mason
"Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along." – Napoleon Hill
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." – Abraham Lincoln
"If criticism is mistaken or mean-spirited, rise above it. Maintain the high ground when you're under fire. No victory is worth winning at the expense of picking up the mud that has been slung at you and throwing it back." – Rubel Shelly
"Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve." – Leonardo da Vinci
"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you'll be a success." – Albert Schweitzer
The wife noticed her husband standing on the bathroom scale, sucking in his ample stomach. Thinking he was trying to weigh less with this maneuver, she quipped, "I don't think that is going to help much, hon."
"Sure it does," he said. "How else can I see the numbers?"
Henry Ford once asked an associate about his life goals. The man replied
that his goal was to make a million dollars. A few days later Ford gave the
man a pair of glasses made out of two silver dollars. He told the man to put
them on and asked what he could see. "Nothing," the man said. "The dollars
are in the way." Ford told him that he wanted to teach him a lesson: If his
only goal was dollars, he would miss a host of greater opportunities. He
should invest himself in serving others, not simply in making money.
That's a great secret of life that far too few people discover. Money is important. No question about that. But money is only a means by which we
reach higher goals. Service to others. Obedience to God. God comes to the
rich man and says, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded
from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" The answer
was clear. The rich man had put his trust in things. Now he was leaving
these things behind.
It was a cold, rainy day in March. Across the room in the millinery department of the store where Maude worked, sat Laura, a woman about Maude's age. Other workers did not like Laura; they thought her to be snobbish and aloof. And Maude agreed.
But sweeping the bias from her eyes, she made up her mind to say something kind to Laura. Finally, she managed, "Do you know, Laura, that I've worked in this room with you for several years. And whenever I glance up I see your head silhouetted against the window there behind you. I think you have the prettiest profile and hair that I have ever seen on anybody." Her words were not insincere flattery. She meant it.
Laura looked up and began to cry. "That's the first kind word anybody has ever said to me in all the years I've worked here," she said.
Maude discovered that Laura's aloofness was not due to snobbishness, but shyness. The two became friends. Other workers soon began to include Laura in their activities, and she blossomed like a flower that, for the first time, found sunlight. The right words, spoken in kindness, changed a life.
Never underestimate the power of your words. There is no wrong time to say the right thing. And there is no better time than now.
There's no doubt that our character has a profound effect on our future. What we must remember, however, is not merely how powerful character is in influencing our destiny, but how capable we are in shaping our own character and, therefore, our future. Character may determine our fate, but it is not determined by fate.
It's a common mistake to think of character as something that is fully formed and fixed early in life. It calls to mind old maxims like "A leopard can't change its spots" and "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." This perspective that our character is etched in stone is supported by a great deal of modern psychology emphasizing self-acceptance. As Popeye says, "I am what I am." The hidden message is: Don't expect me to be more, better, or different.
Ultimately, these views of humanity undervalue the lifelong potential for growth that comes with the power of reflection and choice. How depressing it would be to believe we can't choose to be better—more honest, more respectful, more responsible, more caring. None of us should give up the quest to improve our character. Not because we're bad—we don't have to be sick to get better—but because we're not as good as we could be.
There are so many things in life we can't control—whether we're beautiful or smart, whether we had good parents or bad, whether we grew up with affirmation or negation. It's uplifting to remember that nothing but moral willpower is needed to make us better.
No, it isn't easy. But if we strive to become more aware of the habits of heart and mind that drive our conduct, we can begin to place new emphasis on our higher values so we become what we want our children to think we are.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
One of my favorite quotes happens to be from a Buddhist monk who said, "To know and not to do is not yet to know." To translate this into our Christian terminology it could be, "To believe and not to act is not yet to believe because I only truly believe that which motivates me to action.
It has also been pointed out that we don't always act consistently with what we profess but we always act consistently with what we believe. In other words, I may profess to be a Christian but if I don't act like one, chances are I may not be one.
Furthermore, if I say I believe that Jesus Christ is coming again and unless people receive him as their Savior, they will be lost forever—but don't do anything to share the gospel—chances are I don't really believe that people are lost and that Christ is coming back again. I only profess it.
As James put it, "What's the use of saying that you have faith and are Christians if you aren't proving it by helping others? Will that kind of faith save anyone? It isn't enough just to have faith. You must also do good to prove that you have it. Faith that doesn't show itself by good works is no faith at all—it is dead and useless."2
Good works don't save us. They just confirm what we are and what we believe. Jesus said the same thing. "By their fruits you will know them," he declared.3 In other words, to know and not to do is not yet to know—or to believe and not to act is not yet to believe.
Have you had a reality check lately to see what you really do believe? You measure it by your actions and the way you live.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, help me to be a doer of your Word and not just a hearer and grant that my belief in you will be for real—and be evident in what I do and in the way I live. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus' name, amen."
1. James 2:20.
2. James 2:14, 17 (TLB).
3. Matthew 7:20.
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