A recent seminary graduate with an advanced degree in sociology was called on to deliver a speech to a group of seniors in a retirement community. For what seemed like an eternity to some in the audience, the young man lectured the seniors on “The Art of Living.” When the talk was over, an eighty-eight-year-old …
An anonymous writer has given us this story of an American tourist’s visit to the 19th century Polish Rabbi, Hofetz Chaim, who was looked upon by the people of his time as an extremely wise and saintly person. On his arrival at the rabbi’s residence, the tourist was astonished to discover that it consisted only …
“If there is any one of you who needs wisdom, ask God, who gives to all freely and ungrudgingly” (James 1:5). Every night, a father would quiz his son on the boy’s homework assignment. If he couldn’t answer a question correctly, the young man was instructed to look the answer up in his text book. …
Degas, the great French artist and master of the subtle tones of grey and pink, was once asked, “What do you mix your colors with?” He replied, “With brains.” In blending the colors of life we also must mix them “with brains.” There are pink days when we experience bright joys and brilliant hopes. There …
A woman of advanced age began to have hearing problems. Reluctantly she gave in to suggestions from family members that she consult an ear specialist. After the doctor had made a thorough examination of the woman’s ears, he said to her, “You have a condition which can be corrected by minor surgery. I suggest we …
A recent seminary graduate, with an advanced degree in sociology, was called on to deliver a speech to a group of seniors in a retirement community. For what seemed like an eternity to some in the audience, the young man lectured the seniors on the subject of “The Art of Living.” When the talk was …
Top Picks | Hubris | Youthfu l Ignorance | Wisdom Read More »
WISE MAN & FOOL The story is told of a rich man in Springfield, Illinois, who insisted that a certain poor man owed him $2.50. When the claim was denied, the rich man decided to sue him. He contacted a young lawyer named Lincoln, who at first hesitated to take the case. On second thought …
THE WISDOM THAT COMES IN CRISIS There’s a true story that comes from the sinking of the Titanic. A frightened woman found her place in a lifeboat that was about to be lowered into the raging North Atlantic. She suddenly thought of something she needed, so she asked permission to return to her stateroom before …
Death | Fear | Materialism | Priorities | Wisdom Read More »
THE NINE TESTS OF CONFUCIUS FOR JUDGING MEN “Man’s mind,” says Confucius, “is more treacherous than mounts and rivers, and more difficult to know than the sky. For with the sky you know what to expect in respect of the coming of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and the alternation of day and night. But …
COMPUTERS Computer forecasts are no more reliable than the assumptions on which they are based. If, in 1895, we had put into a computer the number of horses expected to be needed for transportation in the United States in 1984, the computer would have told us that every American citizen would be buried under eleven …
TIMELINESS Father, talking to his teen-age son: “Maybe you should start shifting for yourself now while you still know everything.”
THOSE WHO HAVE IT/THOSE WHO DON’T One day a young friend of Bertrand Russell, the philosopher, noticed that the celebrated thinker was in a state of deep and profound contemplation. The young man asked, “Why so meditative?” Russell replied: “Because I’ve made an odd discovery. Every time I talk to a savant [wise scholar] I …
Faith | Joy | Peace | Rest | Simplicity | Wisdom Read More »
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN Just 200 years ago, in 1787, prayer helped determine the future of our country in a significant way. The Constitutional Convention was on the verge of total failure over the issue of whether small states should have the same representation as large states. In this hopeless situation, 81 year old Benjamin Franklin offered …
Compromise | Freedom | Guidance | Prayer | Wisdom Read More »
FATHER’S ADVICE TO TEEN-AGE SON Maybe you should start shifting for yourself now while you still know everything.
PRUDENCE A young man in Palermo was brought before the judge, accused of robbery. The case against him was strong but the judge heard nothing from the defense. Finally the Judge turned to the alleged robber and scolded, “Well, what have you to say for yourself? Where are your witnesses? Don’t you have any witnesses …
Deceit | Evangelism | Guilt | Honesty | Truth | Wisdom Read More »
DO AS I DO An old lady was leaving church after a service which was very well attended. Getting out the door was taking a bit of time because of the large numbers. She was overheard saying, “If everybody else would only do as I do, and stay quietly in their seats till every one …
SYMPHONY To live content with small means; To seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; To be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; To study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; To listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; To bear all cheerfully, do all …
THE PAIN OF FOLLY: CHAGRIN V S. PLEASURE Benjamin Franklin didn’t write much about his childhood — but he did include the following lines: When I was a child of seven years old, my friends, on a holiday, filled my pockets with coppers. I went directly to a shop where they sold toys for children, …
EXPERTS Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxicabs and cutting hair. George Burns.
JOHN ADAMS: EARLY AMBITION, LATER MATURITY Though John Adams was a brilliant and powerfully influential founding father of our country, in his younger days he was certainly touched by a powerful dose of ambition. Richard B. Morris writes of him and quotes from his diary: A driven man, he was thirsty for fame and greedy …