It is easy to treat people as means to an end rather than as ends in themselves. As a gregarious man once boasted, “I have friends I haven’t even used yet.”537 A false friend is like your shadow. As long as there is sunshine, he sticks close by. But the minute you step into the … Continue reading “FRIENDSHIP, FALSE”
FRIENDS, INFLUENCE OF
A farmer, troubled by a flock of crows in his corn field, loaded his shotgun and crawled unseen along the fence-row, determined to get a shot at the crows. Now the farmer had a very “sociable” parrot who made friends with everybody. Seeing the flock of crows, the parrot flew over and joined them (just … Continue reading “FRIENDS, INFLUENCE OF”
FRIENDLINESS TO ENEMIES
The Civil War had just ended, and the opportunistic scalawags were busy lording it over their fellow Southerners. A hot-blooded contingency of die-hard former rebels gained an audience with President Lincoln. His gentle, friendly manner soon thawed the ice, and the Southerners left with a new respect for their old foe. A northern congressman approached … Continue reading “FRIENDLINESS TO ENEMIES”
FREEDOM, SECURITY AND
At the University of Oklahoma, for many years a project was underway to teach a fifteen-year-old female chimpanzee named Washoe to talk by combining sign language with simple recognition. Since 1966, this chimpanzee learned 140 signs. Finally, the project directors decided that Washoe was prepared to “conceptualize.” This meant that instead of merely imitating some … Continue reading “FREEDOM, SECURITY AND”
FREEDOM, MORALITY AND
“Men are qualified for civil liberties only to the extent that they are willing to put moral chains on their appetites” (attributed to Edmund Burke).531
FREEDOM, LICENSE AND
Many people think that freedom is the license to do whatever a person wants, but true freedom is the ability to do what is right. It takes obedience in order to have true freedom. I can sit at a piano and be at liberty to play any keys that I want, but I don’t have … Continue reading “FREEDOM, LICENSE AND”
FREEDOM, CONSEQUENCES OF
When a man decides to exercise his freedom to break God’s laws, he is like a person who ascends to the top of a tall building and jumps off. For the first several stories he feels great. There are no restraints, no restrictions, no hang-ups. But suppose, ten stories from the ground, he realizes that … Continue reading “FREEDOM, CONSEQUENCES OF”
FOUNDATION, IMPORTANCE OF
If you have ever lived in or visited a large city, you probably have had the chance to watch a skyscraper under construction. For the first six months or so of the project, all the workmen do is make a great hole in the ground. To build a tall building by starting far below the … Continue reading “FOUNDATION, IMPORTANCE OF”
FORNICATION
Fornication is like a cat’s paw. When lightly stroked, it is quite soft and pleasurable, but increased pressure brings out the claws of sin that will shred your very life.525 Vice is a monster of such terrible mien That to be hated needs but to be seen. Yet seen too often, familiar her face We … Continue reading “FORNICATION”
FORGIVENESS, RESULTS OF
We all have seen and used those little electronic calculators. What happens if you get your information confused or make an error? You press the “clear” button and automatically all of the information is eliminated from the calculator. Then you begin again, without trying to sort out the previous mistake. In fact, there is no … Continue reading “FORGIVENESS, RESULTS OF”