The fact that no one is satisfied with what he has is a very common plague. Consequently, everyone says: Why is it that the crops are always better in another’s field than in our own, and that the neighbor’s cows give more milk than ours? And why is it that no one is […]
2794) Martin Luther on Contentment Read More »
Night after night, for several weeks, Mitch prays to the Lord that he would win the lottery, earnestly pleading with God, telling Him that he is facing financial ruin without that money. Week after week, he does not win anything, and his situation and his prayers become ever more desperate. Finally, one night in the
2749) Winning the Lottery Without Buying a Ticket Read More »
(…continued) Then something interesting happened. There was an earthquake that shook the foundations of the prison. Think about that. Your best chance of survival in an earthquake would be to run out into the street where nothing can fall on you. You most definitely would not want to be chained to
2692) You Can’t Always Get What You Want (b) Read More »
By Johann Gerhard (1582-1637), a German Lutheran pastor and professor of theology. He wrote dozens of books, including Sacred Meditations, a collection of 51 meditations published in 1606 from which this piece was taken. The greedy man is the poorest of all men, because what he has fails him as much as what he does not have. He
2654) Avoiding Greed Read More »
“The Miser” A story by Ivan Krilov (1768-1844), Russian writer of fables, from Harper’s Fourth Reader, © 1888, by Harper and Brothers. The image above is “The Miser,” 1780, painted by Gainsborough Dupont (1754-1797) “Is it worthwhile being rich if one is never to enjoy his riches, but only spend his life in
2653) How to Get Enough Read More »
ILYAS, a short story by Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) (…continued) ‘May I speak to him?’ asked the guest. ‘I should like to ask him about his life.’ ‘Why not?’ replied the master, and he called from the kibítka in which they were sitting: ‘Grandfather, come in and have a cup of kumiss with
2606) An Old Married Couple (part two) Read More »
(photo of Leo Tolstoy and his wife in 1910, six weeks before his death) ILYAS, a short story by Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) There once lived in Oufá a man named Ilyás. His father, who died a year after he had found his son a wife, did not leave him much property. Ilyás then
2605) An Old Married Couple (part one) Read More »
Elizabeth was a 92-year-old, petite, well-poised, and proud lady. She and her husband managed to live all seventy years of their married life in their own home, though in the last several years they had to depend much on each other. When Elizabeth’s husband died, she knew she would have to move into
2576) The Mind is Its Own Place Read More »
Harold Kushner (1935), When All You Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough, 1986, pages 22, 23…59: America’s Declaration of Independence guarantees every one of us the right to the pursuit of happiness. But because the Declaration is a political document and not a religious one, it does not warn us of the frustrations of trying to
2498) Trying to Be Happy Read More »
A recurring theme in the Peanuts comic strip was Snoopy’s frustration and hunger when Charlie Brown would forget to feed him. I remember one that went something like this. Charlie Brown is talking to Snoopy. Charlie’s hands are raised in frustration. He says, “You are lucky to be a dog, Snoopy. You don’t
