Reflections


When we can see the image of God where we don’t want to see the image of God, then we see with eyes not our own. ~ Richard Rohr

Consider in silence whatever any one says: speech both conceals and reveals the inner soul of man. ~ Cato the Younger, 95-46 BC, Roman Senator

The tongue [can] become the instrument of Satan himself. This is by no means to be thought of as something confined to what we would recognize as improper or questionable uses of the tongue. One day Peter took the Lord aside to give him the best advice he was capable of and to do so with the most loving and concerned intentions. But the Lord Jesus replied, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God …’ James’ warning, then, is timely. ~ J. Alec Motyer, 1924-2016, Pastor, Theologian

We are not to reflect on the wickedness of men but to look to the image of God in them, an image which, covering and obliterating their faults, an image which, by its beauty and dignity, should allure us to love and embrace them.
~ John Calvin, 1509-1564. Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2 Vols

The best time for you to hold your tongue is the time you feel you must say something or bust. ~ Josh Billings, 1818-1885, American Humorist

Like the God in whose image people are made, people are irreducible. There’s always more to a person – more stories, more life, more complexities – than we know. The human person, when viewed properly, is unfathomable, incalculable, and dear. Perversion always says otherwise.
~ David Dark, 1969- , The Sacredness of Questioning Everything

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
~ Inigo Montoya (on Vizzini’s use of the word “inconceivable”)

This Sunday’s readings: James 3:1-6

Reflections

Just as our love for God begins with listening to God’s Word, the beginning of love for other Christians is learning to listen to them.
~ Dietrich Bonhöffer

No one is a mere follower. If you are a follower of God, for instance, then you are called to lead. Every believer is called to help someone grow into maturity—and such is the core calling of a leader.
~ Dan B. Allender, Leading with a Limp

Speech has power. Words do not fade. What starts out as a sound, ends in a deed.
~ Abraham Joshua Herschel, 1907-1972, famed rabbi and theologian

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Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned.
~ Peter Marshall, 1902-1949, Scottish-American Presbyterian Pastor

I am saddened that my tongue cannot live up to my heart.
~ Augustine of Hippo, 354-430, Theologian/Philosopher

All I need is a sheet of paper and something to write with, and then I can turn the world upside down.
~ Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900, German philosopher and cultural critic

Talk low, talk slow, and don’t say too much.
~ John Wayne, 1907-1979, American Actor

Paul calls leaders not merely to be humble and self-effacing but to be desperate and honest. … He calls us to be a living portrayal of the very gospel we beseech others to believe. And that requires a leader to see himself as being equally prone to deceive as he is to tell the truth, to manipulate as he is to bless, to cower as he is to be bold. A leader is both a hero and a fool, a saint and a felon.
~ Dan B. Allender, Leading with a Limp: Take Full Advantage of Your Most Powerful Weakness