It takes guts to stand up to powerful people and the institutions they operate. It requires boldness. But most people don’t want to face the criticism they’ll receive for resisting the powerful. If you’ve never tried to stand up to a powerful force for evil and taken a beating for it, boldness might seem like a […]
There’s a common tale about pit bulls, that they have special jaws that grab and lock their prey. In truth their jaws are not different in structure at all from any other dog. It’s the pit bull’s personality where the grab and lock occurs. It’s a hard-wired tenacity that is part of the breed. Tenacity […]
Nobody likes a quitter. How often do we hear stuff like that? Perseverance is more than just not quitting. It’s more than just enduring something which can be sedentary and require no effort of the will. There’s an unmistakable action associated with perseverance. It’s a choice of the will to keep on, keepin’ on…even when […]
Among the Tiny Virtues for Exemplary Christian Living, we now transition from the heart virtues, the mind virtues and ones in our character to those residing in the human will. These are what I think of as cluster virtues because they touch our hearts and minds, contribute to our character, but they reside in the […]
Here’s a Tiny Virtue for Exemplary Christian Living that you may not have considered: Reserve. In a microwave culture where we want everything instantly, consume things immediately, but tire of them just as quickly, the idea of reserve (until later) is a foreign concept. But even those who have mastered the art of saving, there’s […]
Can you think of someone in your life who you can always count on? Reliability is one of the more beautiful virtues among the Tiny Virtues for Exemplary Christian Living. Reliability is a lovely anchor for the soul. Like solid ground and rest for the weary and worn traveler. Some of you may be thinking, […]
Discipline is another character virtue, tiny in its visibility, powerful in its results. Have you ever stopped to think about the connection between faith and discipline? About discipline in a holistic sense? The centurion did. Matthew 8: 5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, […]
One of the Tiny Virtues for Exemplary Christian Living can easily go unnoticed, a character virtue of being calm. Just think how easy it is to become riled up over the latest atrocity or scandal. How easy to fly off the handle at some perceived insult. How quickly we can unfriend or hide posts of […]
Do you put a premium on honesty? Do you expect it from others? If you’re like many people, you think that honesty is being systematically stripped from American life. We’ve become too satisfied with lies and have tolerated it in ourselves and in others. God doesn’t like falsehood at all. Especially from Christians. Honesty isn’t […]
The world is filled with people who don’t know contentment. They aren’t content with their jobs, their spouses, their children, their diets, their accomplishments, or their political candidates. (Figured I might as well add that one since everyone’s thinking it anyway.) In many cases, they feel as if they’re owed something better, something more. What […]
