Pastoral Resources

A girl in Sunday school had read the Beatitudes in Matthew She was asked which of the things mentioned she would most like to have She said, "A pure heart." When asked why she preferred that, she said, "If my heart were pure, I believe I would have all the other virtues mentioned in this chapter."

Many of us are like that man who prided himself on his morality and some specific virtues and said, "I am pretty good on the whole I sometimes get mad and speak a couple of unnecessary words, but then I am pretty honest I work on my farm on Sundays when there's work to be done, but I give a good deal to the poor and have never gotten drunk in my life." This man one day hired a Christian to build a fence around his pasture He gave him very specific instructions In the evening when the Scotsman came in from work, the man said, "Well, Jack, is the fence built, and is it good and strong?" "I cannot say it is all tight and strong," Jack replied, "but it's a good average fence, anyhow If some parts are a little weak, others are extra strong I have left a little gap here and there, a yard or so wide, but I made up for it by doubling the rails on each side of the gap I dare say the cattle will find it a good fence on the whole and will like it, though I cannot say it is perfect in every part." "What!" cried the man, not seeing the point, "Do you mean to tell me that you built a fence around my lot with weak places and gaps in it? Why, you might as well have built no fence at all If there is one gap or a place where an opening can be made, the cattle will be sure to find it and will be sure to go through Don't you know, man, that a fence must be perfect or it is worthless?" "I used to think so," said the man, "but I hear you talking so much about averaging matters with the Lord, it seems to me we might try it with the cattle."

Tourists stand in wondering admiration before some of the palaces of the old world that have endured for more than a thousand years without a crack or seam The Pantheon at Rome stands just as it did well over two thousand years ago This would be impossible had not its foundations been right The Rialto Bridge that spans the Grand Canal in Venice was erected in a.d 1588 It has stood as it now stands for over four centuries, but that bridge rests on twelve thousand piles driven deeply into the soil What is true of buildings is also true of life God cannot and will not build the Christian virtues into your life, or fill you with the Holy Spirit for His service, until the proper foundation of receiving Christ and Him crucified as your Savior and Lord has been laid.

Ancil Jenkins shares this illustration:

"'Fasten your seat belt,'I said to my wife, Elaine, the other day 'It is the law, you know.'As she fastened her seat belt, I thought, 'Dummy, that is not the reason you want her buckled up You want her protected from the harm of any accident you might drive her into.'How shallow would be my concern if I was more in fear of paying a fine than in her being seriously hurt!

"How much this can describe our approach to our obedience to God! Almost all we do is from mixed motives Yet which motive is overriding? Do we obey because we fear God's wrath and judgment? Do we feel He will break our leg or burn down our house if we disobey? Do we feel that Christianity is just a set of rules to be obeyed and our satisfaction comes from doing a good job of keeping rules?

"The result of such an attitude will only breed fear and guilt Fear comes from any failure to obey, and there will be such failure Guilt comes from many sources, such as finding there was a law you had been failing to obey Any failure at perfect obedience can lead to regarding some laws as more important than others All this can lead to a disregard of others who do not keep laws as well as we do (Luke 18:1) It can lead us to giving more attention to the minute details and neglecting the major virtues God desires us to have (Matthew 23:23) We become ridiculous gnat strainers and camel swallowers (Matthew 23:24).

"We should obey God because we love Him We obey because He has done so much for us and we have done so little for Him We obey because love is never content to accept but must always give Jesus said, 'If you love Me, you will do what I command' (John 14:15) We then come to realize that our disobedience not only breaks the laws of God, it also breaks the heart of God How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert! (Psalm 78:40).

"Such obedience is far fuller, richer, and freer than can ever come from a legal motivation Imagine a woman who is a nurse and a mother She may work at a hospital all day caring for the sick When she has worked eight hours, she goes home Upon arriving home, she finds her child is seriously ill She will then give her child the same care she gives the hospital patients However, when she has cared for her child for eight hours, she will not quit She gives care no one can buy The difference is the motivation.

"What is your major motivation? Seek to know God better, and you will find yourself obeying out of love It will become 'richer, fuller, deeper'and will become 'sweeter as the years go by.'"

Be careful and cautious how you criticize The man who had a good opinion of himself and his own virtues and thought he was so much better than anyone else, stopped in front of a taxidermist's window, in which there was an owl which had attracted quite a crowd of sightseers.

So sure he was far superior in his knowledge of birds, he remarked, "Well, if I couldn't stuff an owl better than that, I would quit the business The head is not right; the pose of the body is awkward; the feathers are not right; and the feet are not under it right." Just then the owl turned its head and gave him a quick wink or two.

The crowd roared They turned to comment to him; but he slunk away as fast as he could go.

In front of the great Cathedral of Amiens stands a statue of Jesus Christ, and on either side His twelve apostles Below them are written their greatest virtues, in contrast to their greatest vices In Peter's case, his outstanding quality is his courage, but below it you see a figure of Peter fleeing from a leopard, representing his cowardice Then beneath that you see the same figure sitting on a leopard and riding forth to conquest The sculptor wished to teach us that by contact with the Lord Jesus Christ that very thing which is a man's weakness can be transfigured into his strength; that very thing from which he fled can become the glorious chariot on which he rides forward, conquering and to conquer.

O God, our Heavenly Father, protect and bless us. Deepen and strengthen our love for each other day by day. Grant that by Thy mercy neither of us ever say one unkind word to the other.

Forgive and correct our faults, and make us constantly to forgive one another should one of us unconsciously hurt the other. Make us and keep us sound and well in body, alert in mind, tender in heart, devout in spirit. O Lord, grant us each to rise to the other’s best. Then we pray Thee add to our common life such virtues as only Thou canst give. And so, O Father, consecrate our life and our love completely to Thy worship, and to the service of all about us, especially those whom Thou has appointed us to serve, that we may always stand before Thee in happiness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

This beautiful prayer was written by Bishop Slattery, soon after his marriage, to be used each day in their family devotions at home in Boston, Massachusetts.

A girl in Sunday school had read the Beatitudes in Matthew. She was asked which of the things mentioned she would most like to have. She said, "A pure heart." When asked why she preferred that, she said, "If my heart were pure, I believe I would have all the other virtues mentioned in this chapter."

Many of us are like that man who prided himself on his morality and some specific virtues and said, "I am pretty good on the whole. I sometimes get mad and speak a couple of unnecessary words, but then I am pretty honest. I work on my farm on Sundays when there's work to be done, but I give a good deal to the poor and have never gotten drunk in my life." This man one day hired a Christian to build a fence around his pasture. He gave him very specific instructions. In the evening when the Scotsman came in from work, the man said, "Well, Jack, is the fence built, and is it good and strong?" "I cannot say it is all tight and strong," Jack replied, "but it's a good average fence, anyhow. If some parts are a little weak, others are extra strong. I have left a little gap here and there, a yard or so wide, but I made up for it by doubling the rails on each side of the gap. I dare say the cattle will find it a good fence on the whole and will like it, though I cannot say it is perfect in every part." "What!" cried the man, not seeing the point, "Do you mean to tell me that you built a fence around my lot with weak places and gaps in it? Why, you might as well have built no fence at all. If there is one gap or a place where an opening can be made, the cattle will be sure to find it and will be sure to go through. Don't you know, man, that a fence must be perfect or it is worthless?" "I used to think so," said the man, "but I hear you talking so much about averaging matters with the Lord, it seems to me we might try it with the cattle."

Many years ago a senior executive of the then Standard Oil Company made a wrong decision that cost the company more than $2 million. John D. Rockefeller was then running the firm. On the day the news leaked out most of the executives of the company were finding various ingenious ways of avoiding Mr. Rockefeller, lest his wrath descend on their heads.

There was one exception, however; he was Edward T. Bedford, a partner in the company. Bedford was scheduled to see Rockefeller that day and he kept the appointment, even though he was prepared to listen to a long harangue against the man who made the error in judgment.

When he entered the office the powerful head of the gigantic Standard Oil empire was bent over his desk busily writing with a pencil on a pad of paper. Bedford stood silently, not wishing to interrupt. After a few minutes Rockefeller looked up.

“Oh, it’s you, Bedford,” he said calmly. “I suppose you’ve heard about our loss?”

Bedford said that he had.

“I’ve been thinking it over,” Rockefeller said, “and before I ask the man in to discuss the matter, I’ve been making some notes.”

Bedford later told the story this way:

“Across the top of the page was written, ‘Points in favor of Mr. _______.’ There followed a long list of the man’s virtues, including a brief description of how he had helped the company make the right decision on three separate occasions that had earned many times the cost of his recent error.

“I never forgot that lesson. In later years, whenever I was tempted to rip into anyone, I forced myself first to sit down and thoughtfully compile as long a list of good points as I possibly could. Invariably, by the time I finished my inventory, I would see the matter in its true perspective and keep my temper under control. There is no telling how many times this habit has prevented me from committing one of the costliest mistakes any executive can make -- losing his temper.

“I commend it to anyone who must deal with people.”

Benjamin Franklin settled on thirteen virtues, including:

Silence: “Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation”

Frugality: “Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; that is, waste nothing”

Industry: “Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions”

Tranquillity: “Be not disturbed at trifles or at accidents common or unavoidable”

He set up a book with a page for each virtue, lining a column in which to record “defects.” Choosing a different virtue to work on each week, he daily noted every mistake, starting over every 13 weeks in order to cycle through the list four times a year.

For many decades Franklin carried his little book with him, striving for a clean thirteen-week cycle. As he made progress, he found himself struggling with yet another defect. “There is perhaps no one of natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it. Struggle with it. Stifle it. Mortify it as much as one pleases. It is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself….even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.

Benjamin Franklin settled on thirteen virtues, including

Silence (“Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation”)

Frugality (“Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; that is, waste nothing”)

Industry (“Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions”)

Tranquility (“Be not disturbed at trifles or at accidents common or unavoidable”).

He set up a book with a page for each virtue, lining a column in which to record “defects.” Choosing a different virtue to work on each week, he daily noted every mistake, starting over every 13 weeks in order to cycle through the list four times a year. For many decades Franklin carried his little book with him, striving for a clean thirteen-week cycle.

As he made progress, he found himself struggling with yet another defect. “There is perhaps no one of natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it. Struggle with it. Stifle it. Mortify it as much as one pleases. It is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself…even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.

The Scriptures often exhort us to be filled with various godly virtues—which means what? How do we know if we are “full of goodness” (Rom. 15:14), for example?

Think a moment about a water-saturated sponge. If we push down with our finger even slightly, water runs out onto the table. We immediately know what fills the interior pockets of the sponge. The same is true of ourselves. We can tell what fills us on the inside by what comes out under pressure.

Duke University did a study on “peace of mind.” Factors found to contribute greatly to emotional and mental stability are:

1. The absence of suspicion and resentment. Nursing a grudge was a major factor in unhappiness.

2. Not living in the past. An unwholesome preoccupation with old mistakes and failures leads to depression.

3. Not wasting time and energy fighting conditions you cannot change. Cooperate with life, instead of trying to run away from it.

4. Force yourself to stay involved with the living world. Resist the temptation to withdraw and become reclusive during periods of emotional stress.

5. Refuse to indulge in self-pity when life hands you a raw deal. Accept the fact that nobody gets through life without some sorrow and misfortune.

6. Cultivate the old-fashioned virtues—love, humor, compassion and loyalty

7. Do not expect too much of yourself. When there is too wide a gap between self-expectation and your ability to meet the goals you have set, feelings of inadequacy are inevitable.

8. Find something bigger than yourself to believe in. Self-centered egotistical people score lowest in any test for measuring happiness.

The Scriptures often exhort us to be filled with various godly virtues—which means what? How do we know if we are “full of goodness” (Rom. 15:14), for example?

Think a moment about a water-saturated sponge. If we push down with our finger even slightly, water runs out onto the table. We immediately know what fills the interior pockets of the sponge. The same is true of ourselves. We can tell what fills us on the inside by what comes out under pressure.

As a lawyer, as a congressman, as Governor of Ohio, and as President of the United States, William McKinley had a close relationship with his mother. He either visited her or sent a message to her every day.

When she became seriously ill, he arranged to have a special train standing by, ready to take him to her bedside. Mrs. McKinley died December 12, 1897, in the arms of her 54-year-old son. Her gentle, Christian virtues helped mold the President’s character, for when he was gunned down in Buffalo, New York, about 4 years later, he showed no bitterness toward his assassin. With Christian courage he said, “God’s will be done.” Before he died, he asked to hear once again the hymn “Nearer, My God, to Thee,” which his mother had taught him.

Tourists stand in wondering admiration before some of the palaces of the old world that have endured for more than a thousand years without a crack or seam. The Pantheon at Rome stands just as it did well over two thousand years ago. This would be impossible had not its foundations been right. The Rialto Bridge that spans the Grand Canal in Venice was erected in a.d. 1588. It has stood as it now stands for over four centuries, but that bridge rests on twelve thousand piles driven deeply into the soil. What is true of buildings is also true of life. God cannot and will not build the Christian virtues into your life, or fill you with the Holy Spirit for His service, until the proper foundation of receiving Christ and Him crucified as your Savior and Lord has been laid.

Americans are living in a post-heroic age, where young adults are much less likely than their parents to have national role models.

A survey by Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University shows that 60 percent of adults have no heroes. Of those who do have heroes, most said their heroes are either dead or are historical figures.

Defining “hero” as anyone with admirable courage (other than family or biblical figures), the study revealed that the last 30 or 40 years has been a time of extreme cynicism toward heroes, in which a media-wise culture has witnessed the debunking and demythologizing of one so-called hero after another.

It’s not a healthy trend, according to former U.S. Education Secretary William Bennett, author of the best-seller The Book of Virtues: “It is particularly important for young people to have heroes. This is a way to teach them by moral example, so that we can point to someone as an ideal.” Maybe they should include biblical figures in their next survey.

Ancil Jenkins shares this illustration:

"'Fasten your seat belt,'I said to my wife, Elaine, the other day. 'It is the law, you know.'As she fastened her seat belt, I thought, 'Dummy, that is not the reason you want her buckled up. You want her protected from the harm of any accident you might drive her into.'How shallow would be my concern if I was more in fear of paying a fine than in her being seriously hurt!

"How much this can describe our approach to our obedience to God! Almost all we do is from mixed motives. Yet which motive is overriding? Do we obey because we fear God's wrath and judgment? Do we feel He will break our leg or burn down our house if we disobey? Do we feel that Christianity is just a set of rules to be obeyed and our satisfaction comes from doing a good job of keeping rules?

"The result of such an attitude will only breed fear and guilt. Fear comes from any failure to obey, and there will be such failure. Guilt comes from many sources, such as finding there was a law you had been failing to obey. Any failure at perfect obedience can lead to regarding some laws as more important than others. All this can lead to a disregard of others who do not keep laws as well as we do (Luk_18:1). It can lead us to giving more attention to the minute details and neglecting the major virtues God desires us to have (Mat_23:23). We become ridiculous gnat strainers and camel swallowers (Mat_23:24).

"We should obey God because we love Him. We obey because He has done so much for us and we have done so little for Him. We obey because love is never content to accept but must always give. Jesus said, 'If you love Me, you will do what I command' (Joh_14:15). We then come to realize that our disobedience not only breaks the laws of God, it also breaks the heart of God. How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert! (Psa_78:40).

"Such obedience is far fuller, richer, and freer than can ever come from a legal motivation. Imagine a woman who is a nurse and a mother. She may work at a hospital all day caring for the sick. When she has worked eight hours, she goes home. Upon arriving home, she finds her child is seriously ill. She will then give her child the same care she gives the hospital patients. However, when she has cared for her child for eight hours, she will not quit. She gives care no one can buy. The difference is the motivation.

"What is your major motivation? Seek to know God better, and you will find yourself obeying out of love. It will become 'richer, fuller, deeper'and will become 'sweeter as the years go by.'"

It is reported that in the late 1860s, President Ulysses S. Grant gave a cigar to Horace Norton, philanthropist and founder of Norton College. Because of his respect for the President, Norton chose to keep the cigar rather than smoke it. Upon Norton’s death, the cigar passed to his son, and later it was bequeathed to his grandson. It was Norton’s grandson who in 1932 chose to light the cigar ceremoniously during an oration at Norton College’s 70th anniversary celebration. Waxing eloquent, Norton lit the famous cigar and proceeded to extol the many virtues of Grant until...Boom! The renowned cigar exploded! That’s right—over sixty years earlier Grant had passed a loaded cigar along to a good friend, and at long last it had made a fool of his friend’s grandson!