Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."
-- Jeremiah 9:23-24 (ESV)
Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening:
The Lord loves His people to value Him, and to set a high estimate upon His favor. He would have them think much of Him, and delight much in Him. You know the man who boasts in his riches -- let him boast in God instead, for God is better than gold.
John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of John:
Nothing is so unworthy of a wise man as to be vain of his own wisdom. For what wisdom is there in a man who does not know himself? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and he who begins there has already left boasting behind.
Gregory of Nazianzus, Oration 28:
No sooner do I conceive of the One than I am illumined by the splendor of the Three; no sooner do I distinguish them than I am carried back to the One. When I think of any One of the Three I think of Him as the Whole, and my eyes are filled, and the greater part of what I am thinking escapes me.
The mind that grasps for self-sufficiency always comes up short. The man who stands before God with empty hands stands tallest.
Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Book I, Ch. 1:
Whoever desires to understand and take delight in the words of Christ must strive to conform his whole life to Him. What does it profit a man to engage in deep discussion about the Trinity, if he lack humility and thereby displease the Trinity? Truly, lofty words do not make a man holy and just, but a virtuous life makes him dear to God.
Discipline is not the accumulation of knowledge. It is the ordering of a life toward one end. The man who builds with his hands on Sunday and his mind on Monday has not separated the two -- he has brought one discipline into every room.
What are you boasting in today that you would be ashamed of tomorrow?
Epictetus, Discourses, II.5:
It is not things that disturb us, but our judgments about things. What then is it to be properly educated? To learn how to apply the natural preconceptions to particular cases, and to distinguish what is in our power from what is not.
You cannot control the weather, the bid results, the schedule delays, or the man who does not keep his word. You can control whether you told the truth, whether you did the work, whether you stood when it cost you to stand.
St. Clair, MI -- Sunday, July 26
Partly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. High near 82°F. Winds W up to 5 mph, shifting NW late afternoon. Chance of rain 40%.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, chance of evening showers and slight chance of thunderstorms, then mostly cloudy after midnight. Low 66°F. Chance of rain 40%.