If we’re frightened by a thing to which there is really no honorable alternative, there is something that can encourage us: the knowledge that doing what is right is its own reward. The softest pillow is the knowledge that we’ve done what was right.
Since there are so many “discordant elements” in the world, both outside and inside of us, it is a wonder that there can be any kind of accord or consonance. But there can be. And we ought to pursue the value of harmony more diligently than we do.
Deliberation means thoughtfulness in decision or action. If we do something deliberately, that means we consider it or plan it in advance with a full awareness of everything that is involved. Deliberate things are done purposefully.
I believe it’s important for us to sing while we can. Whether we recognize it right now or not, there is some wonderful “music” in all of us. There may be some songs we’ll need to sing tomorrow, but we dare not let today’s songs go unsung.
A lack of vigilance can keep our other qualities from being effective. Things like intelligence or courage can go to waste if we’re paying so little attention to what’s going on that we fail to take action when we need to. So today . . . watch out!
Worthy impact does not come from what the world calls “greatness” but from what the wise call “goodness.” If the truth could be known, it’s not the movers and the shakers who change the world the most, but the down-to-earth folks who simply do good.
Yes, we’ll lose some skirmishes in the short run, but we can fight with an unconquerable spirit. If we do with “true grit” the very best we know to do, then our heads need never be bowed in shame. Difficulty is inevitable, but destruction is not.
It takes great energy to overcome inertia and act in the direction of improvement, and this energy must be exerted by our will. If we simply live by default, doing no more than what is easy, then dilapidation and chaos are bound to be the results.
It’s a much bigger world than any of us have yet comprehended, and even in our own little personal worlds, there are many things we’ve not yet explored or been able to explain. We need to be impressed with how much there is to learn.
Charity can be thought of as the glue that holds many other important things in life together. Qualities like wisdom, strength, and courage can easily get out of hand, and even do damage, if they’re not enlivened, warmed, and motivated by charity.
We haven't "chosen life" if we're not doing the kinds of things Moses commanded Israel to do in Deuteronomy 30:20, "loving the Lord your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to him." Choosing life is not a passive experience but an active one.