The seven works of bodily mercy be these: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked and the needy, harbour the houseless, comfort the sick, visit prisoners, bury the dead. The seven works of spiritual mercy be these: teach men the truth, counsel men to hold with Christ's law, chastise sinners by moderate reproving in charity, comfort sorrowful men by Christ's passion, forgive wrongs, suffer meekly reproofs for the right of God's law, pray heartily for friend and for foe.

A few years ago, Chuck Colson was standing in a long line in the airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. He and some Prison Fellowship colleagues had been traveling all night. It was now early morning. The terminal was hot and steamy, and they were tired. As Chuck relates in his new book, Being the Body, "Passport in my sticky hand, I was exhausted and exasperated at the long, inefficient line snaking ahead of us. I was worried we would miss our next flight and the ministry friends who were waiting for us." But, Chuck adds, "I was also determined not to let my frustration get the better of me. I talked with my friends; we laughed and made the best of the situation." Two years later, he received a letter from a businessman who lived in Singapore. The man had been a follower of Confucius, but he sent his children to Sunday school at a Presbyterian church for moral training. One Sunday, as he picked up his kids, he heard the end of the sermon. A visiting missionary held up a copy of Chuck's first book, Born Again. On the cover was a picture of Chuck. A few months later, this businessman was stuck in a long line in the steaming Jakarta airport. Glancing over into the next line, he spotted the same face he'd seen on the cover of Born Again. He was so impressed by Chuck Colson's calm demeanor and cheerfulness that when he got back to Singapore, he got the book, read it, and committed his life to Christ.

If a farmer doesn't plant seeds, he will never harvest a crop. It doesn't matter how weed-free his ground is; he must also plant and cultivate good seed.

The most destructive habit..............................Worry The greatest Joy.......................................Giving The greatest loss........................Loss of self-respect The most satisfying work.......................Helping others The ugliest personality trait.....................Selfishness The most endangered species........Dedicated leaders Our greatest natural resource..........Our youth The greatest "shot in the arm".................Encouragement The greatest problem to overcome.......................Fear The most effective sleeping pill................Peace of mind The most crippling failure disease....................Excuses The most powerful force in life.........................Love The most dangerous pariah.........................A gossiper The world's most incredible computer................The brain The worst thing to be without.... . Hope The deadliest weapon..........................The tongue The two most power-filled words......................"I Can" The greatest asset.....................................Faith The most worthless emotion..........................Self-pity The most beautiful attire..............................SMILE! The most prized possession......................... Integrity The most powerful channel of communication.............Prayer The most contagious spirit.........................Enthusiasm

All men are ruined, are ruined on the side of their natural propensities.

The virtue of a man ought to be measured not by his extraordinary exertions, but by his everyday conduct.

Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees the others.

In matters of style, swim with the current. In matters of principle, stand like a rock.

Assume a virtue as if you already had it. --

Love means to love that which is unlovable, or it is no virtue at all; forgiving means to pardon that which is unpardonable, or it is no virtue at all.

The greatest pleasure I have known is to do a good action by stealth, and to have it found out by accident. – Charles Lamb, 1775-1834

The wicked are always surprised to find that the good can be clever. – Luc de Clapiers de Vauvenargues, 1715-1747

A lively virtue, however, is embedded in this deadly sin. The virtue grows out of the same soil but blooms in a completely different fashion. It is, if you will, a form of good envy that learns from greatness without wanting to bring it down. It's not an opposing virtue, as the church would say, but one that is mixe up with the same impulses that can lead to the green-eyed monster. This lively virtue, which has already been alluded to, is called EMULATION.

According to Aquinas we must define a thing not by its ultimate principle, but by the proximate one; and therefore the answer to the question, "What is the essence of virtue?" is not "Doing the will of God" but "Doing what is consonant with insight and appropriate to the situation." <i>otherwise</i> It is extraordinarily easy for us to convince ourselves that God wants us to do what we are doing. <em>and</em> How can God save us from the consequences of our imprudence without interfering with our freedom?

The biologists, writing in a Darwinian perspective, emphasize the continuities rather than the differences among species. The facts of evolution, citizens are told, imply that humans are biologically prepared to be self-interested and motivated to maximize their status, pleasure, and reproductive potential. These scholars simply ignore the glaring fact that the first human groups were cooperative and that contemporary societies that have enjoyed long periods of peace, including the Balinese and the Batek of Malaysia, discourage intense competitiveness and encourage cooperation. If maximizing our reproductive potential is the most urgent human need, it is puzzling that during the opening decades of the seventeenth century more than one in five adults in England remained unmarried because of economic conditions that motivated many to avoid the shame of being unable to support a family. Among humans, preserving one's virtue trumps the motive for maximizing one's inclusive fitness every time.