Jesus didn’t have much use for hypocrites—those intelligent “authorities” who liked telling people how to live but relished even more representing themselves as something they weren’t: wise. We have modern-day Pharisees in every field today—politics, showbiz, science, even in our…
Several New Age gurus have been credited for saying “Life’s a marathon, not a sprint.” There’s nothing new about that philosophy. It’s as old as prophecy. But for some of the prophets, life was more of a marathon relay—from Moses…
While those young Thai soccer players were trapped deep in an underground, underwater cave, it became apparent their only hope of salvation lay outside that environment. It came in the form of Navy SEALS who used all their skills to…
As science and medicine enable more of us live to ripe old ages, or well past the deadlines certain illnesses used to impose, more of us also depend on others to preserve our quality of life. Food and shelter alone…
The greatest lesson of Christianity is the simplest: How to be selfishly selfless. That seems like a contradiction to anybody who doesn’t know the love of family. So imagine the band of brothers Christ assembled to carry on his mission…
For such a seemingly meek man, Mr. Rogers wielded a lot of power in his neighborhood. Many young adults grew up watching Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood on Public Television, finding solace in his humble, friendly, accepting manner. He offered them the…
A half century ago, my mother had a Scotch tape dispenser with this little piece of Pennsylvania Dutch wisdom inscribed on its side: “We grow too soon old and too late smart.” In today’s era of pervasive marketing, the Scotch…
Charles Krauthammer had every reason to welcome death. As if being paralyzed from the neck down weren’t enough, recently this award-winning journalist and commentator was diagnosed with inoperable cancer that left him with weeks to live. By the standards of…
A well-dressed elderly couple rang our doorbell the other day. After sharing greetings, one question from them told me they were either insurance salespeople or Jehovah’s Witnesses. “Are you worried about your future?,” one asked. “Who’s asking?,” I asked. “We’re…
See if you can guess where and when the following text first appeared: “A good turn need only be a very small one; if it is only to put a halfpenny into a poor box, or to help an old…