Who Does His "Fair Share"? May 6, 1956
There is a sentence from an unidentified author which says in substance: “There is no limit to the good a man can do, if he doesn’t care who gets the credit.” But sometimes the...
Where Is Mother? May 13, 1956
Two thoughts come sharply through two questions really, almost always asked by children, young or old, when they come home from anywhere at any hour: “Is mother home?” “Where is...
We Turn to… "Happiness"… January 15, 1956
At this time of new beginnings, new purposes, new records, new resolve, we turn a moment to a new subject that is timeworn, yet always timely: the subject of “happiness”⎯which all people...
Truly the Light Is Sweet… August 26, 1956
There is a short sentence in Ecclesiastes that suggests a subject: “Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is to behold the sun.” “Truly the light is sweet.” If...
To Be a Slave to Nothing April 15, 1956
The question of freedom is always before us: what it is—and how much men were meant to have—and how much freedom one can have within the limits of the law. To begin with, we can only conclude that...
This Anxious Load… April 29, 1956
There comes to mind a stanza of a hymn which has some special meaning for the discouraged and heavyhearted, part of which consists of these two short sentences: “Why should this anxious load...
There Is No Right Way to Do a Wrong Thing January 29, 1956
Whether we know it or not, whether we recognize it or not, it is still, and always, happiness that we pursue. But with poor decisions or thoughtless acts or utterances, some of us sometimes seem to...
The Warning Signs and Symptoms August 5, 1956
We should like to consider another side of the power of prevention: Often we become so busy in life that we ignore the first symptoms and the warning signs in many matters. Under the pressures of a...
The Thoughts We Think September 9, 1956
It was Cicero who said: “To think is to live.” Many other eminent observers have suggested the prime importance of the thoughts a person thinks⎯for thoughts are the forerunners both of...
The Tension of Pretense September 16, 1956
There are, in literature and in life, some interesting tales of the tensions that come from leading a double life. In the field of espionage, for example, there would seem to be little time for...
The Process of Procrastination September 23, 1956
We have talked of the tension of pretending⎯of insincerity, of pretending to be what we aren’t, of pretending to be doing what we aren’t doing. There is yet another side of this subject...
The Power to Appreciate the Present October 28, 1956
The Power of Prevention July 29, 1956
We should like to turn for a moment or two to the power of prevention. It seems sometimes that we spend too much of our lives putting out fires—too much time running to meet emergencies—too much...
The Momentous Matter of Marriage May 20, 1956
In the memorable play, Our Town, the philosophizing stage manager speaks these thoughtful lines: “I’m awfully interested in how big things . . . begin. You know how it is: you’re...
The Love of Light and Learning… April 8, 1956
Scripture and reason and revelation, as well as the very awareness within us, all attest to man’s eternal continuance. Since this is so, since men are immortal, how should we best use our...
The Letdowns in Life July 15, 1956
The Courage to Live With Uncertainty… December 9, 1956
Each day brings its own news, it sown uncertainties and decisions. Not for any of us is life always or ever altogether controllable or predictable or safe or certain. We all have to adjust to...
The Courage to Face Facts December 16, 1956
In the process of adjusting to life, we all have some problems. And growing up is part of the process and the problem⎯sometimes a rather painful part. As Paul comments: “When I was a child, I...
The Courage to Carry Responsibility December 2, 1956
It seems sometimes that there is less, or at least too little, willingness on the part of too many people to accept real responsibility⎯for themselves or for their decisions, of for the soundness...
Success--of Quantity and Quality January 8, 1956
On this question again of success and failure, and of closing the books upon the past, and then of having to turn around and repeat our performance: Life is very much like that⎯always⎯every week,...