The Beginning of Things   July 31, 1955

The beginning of things is exceedingly important⎯the beginning of trends and tendencies: the beginnings of habits; of quarrels; of good or bad qualities of character; the beginnings of the symptoms...

Remembering--and Forgetting   August 14, 1955

In Hamlet, Shakespeare penned this provocative sentence: “God has given you one face, and you make yourselves another.” God also gave us in our entrance into this life, a new start for...

Hidden in Their Hearts   August 21, 1955

Most of those who move about us from day to day are carrying their share of trouble and disappointment and sorrow hidden in their hearts; and we, with unseeing wyes, are often indifferent, not...

The Long Look   August 28, 1955

There seems to be little evidence that the Creator of the universe was ever in a hurry. Everywhere, on this bounteous and beautiful earth, and to the farthest reaches of the firmament, there is...

The Agony of Indecision   September 4, 1955

As we look back upon Hamlet with all his problems, one thing for which he was most to be pitied was his agony of indecision – his hanging between “to be or not to be.” But Hamlet...

Why Should We Work?   September 11, 1955

There is a tendency in most of us at times not to do anything that is difficult to do, not to perform any unpleasant service, engage in any inconvenient activity. The tendency is often more apparent...

Before We Learn to Live   September 18, 1955

An ancient philosopher offered this interesting observation: “If we could be twice young and twice old, we could correct all our mistakes.”1 there is no real assurance that this is so,...

How to Behave Away From Home   September 25, 1955

Harboring Our Hurts   October 2, 1955

No doubt the course of history has many times been altered because someone has had his feelings hurt. There are some classic examples that suggest themselves, such as Achilles sulking in his tent at...

Telling the Truth   October 9, 1955

From Samuel Taylor Coleridge, this sentence suggests a subject: “Veracity,” he said, “does not consist in saying, but in the intention of communicating truth.” Too often it...

The Things We Wish Were Not   October 16, 1955

Sometimes we find ourselves praying and pleading to make some things as if they hadn’t happened. And we find ourselves blaming ourselves for what we did or didn’t do wishing for the...

Sins of Omission   October 23, 1955

Sometimes we hear someone defensively say, “I haven’t done anything” – but innocence isn’t always merely a matter of not doing anything. The privilege of living calls for...

On Being Too Long Alone   October 30, 1955

Cast of Character   November 6, 1955

Somewhere have heard the story of the old southern hunter who sent his faithful dog on an errand—an errand on which the dog encountered a forest fire and lost his life. And the old man bitterly wept...

As Our Children Exceed Us   November 13, 1955

A man in his youth may receive sound teaching and training from parents, and be schooled in basic qualities of character. But as he grows older and takes his own independent place, he may foolishly...

This We Can Count On…   November 20, 1955

Some things we cannot always count on. But the things we can count on are so great, so solid, so sweet and satisfying, that even a brief and incomplete inventory of them fills our hearts with an...

The Use of Daylight--and Darkness   November 27, 1955

“In the beginning…” it is written “the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God...

The Daylight Hours   December 4, 1955

There are proverbs and pronouncements from many centuries back concerning the use of the daylight hours that God has given. Indeed in his dissertation on Economics, the much-quoted Aristotle himself...

Decisions in Daylight and Darkness   December 11, 1955

As to the distortions of darkness⎯many things are imagined. Troubles are magnified and symptoms also, and worries become more weighty in the hours of the night. And decisions made in darkness may...

Homecoming--for the Whole Human Family   December 25, 1955

On this day, and even at this hour, there comes into our consciousness a sense of countless scenes and settings that we should like to look in upon, across this beloved land, and in many other...