You’ve heard it before. You have some problem and well-meaning person mothers you by saying with a straight face: “Just be yourself.” If “be yourself” means “be honest about yourself, your weaknesses, and your abilities, lie neither to yourself or others” then I agree. If it means do what you truly and really think is …
Tag: wisdom
Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil
Thou shalt not take up a false report: put not thy hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to wrest justice: neither shalt thou favor a poor man in his cause. (Exodus …
Wisdom Wedneday: The Evil Woman in Proverbs 6
Pro 6:23-35 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life, (24) to preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. (25) Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with …
How to get your life together: James
Get it together I’ve been doing Sunday school lessons on the book of James for weeks and while it has specific social applications to the struggles faced in his day, I’d say the main message is something like this: You have heard the word, accepted the word, and joined a church founded on the word, …
Effort Habit: Keep the Faculty of Effort Alive in You
William James on the Effort Habit One of my favorite selections from James’ psychology text book is about developing an effort habit: Keep the faculty of effort alive in you by a little gratuitous exercise every day. That is, be systematically ascetic or heroic in little unnecessary points, do every day or two something for …
Sunday School: Career vs Calling
Christianese: I’m not sure what I’m called to do. I’m pretty sure God is calling me to become a chef. God told me to change majors. God called me to date so-and-so. I’m feeling called to the [insert cause that allows for very little personal accountability here]. 3 Aspects of Calling (in and out of …
On the sissyness of Christian advice.
Often, advice from successful Christian men and women boils down to platitudes that sound spiritual, but reflect neither wisdom nor what those very people did to become successful. Here are things I heard in sermons to college students when I was in college or that I heard when I asked for advice: Ask God for guidance. …
The soul of the sluggard
The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. (Pro 13:4) “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”(Exo 20:17) In …
Don’t Retire to Watch T.V. and Wish You’d Lived Differently
Don’t retire, if you retire from your career, pursue your calling as soon as you clock out on your last day. Watch this video. This woman is one hundred years old: Proverbs 24:10 says: “If you faint in days of adversity, your strength is small.” I hope to follow this woman’s advice and I hope …
Be Wise For Yourself
One of the most interesting features of the book of Proverbs is that despite the fact that the Proverbs themselves try to help the individual to be oriented toward others, the book appeals primarily to self-interest. This is very important. I’ll probably write more about it later (I still need to finish my series on …