Aphorisms

Mom-isms, Dad-isms, a little wisdom, maybe some foolishness

1. Don’t believe everything you think.

2. If you speak the truth, you can afford to forget. The liar pays a high price for forgetfulness.

3. Some are brilliant, some are brilliantly wrong. Brilliance does not correspond with being right.

4. Find it in your mind.

5. Wherever you go you take yourself with you.

6. That which is good is paid for upfront. That which is bad is paid for after the fact.

7. Listen to what another person says and you will learn a lot about that person.

8. Never put a desperate man in a corner. Always allow for a gracious exit.

9. Problems, like large animals, are best approached from the side rather than head on.

10. Don’t expect from a person what only God can provide.

11. The arguments that reassure the converted rarely impact the unconverted.

12. Love covers over a multitude of sins.

13. There are things worse than death.

14. Struggling to say what you think is worth the effort.

15. Even protestants need a confessor sometimes. Confess your sins to one another.

16. Deeds of darkness only have power in the dark.

17. Use your wealth to make friends for yourselves. What other good is wealth for?

18. At age two we learn to say “no.” Don’t forget what you learned.

19. Your conscience points toward the highest good in your life. If your highest good is an idol, your conscience will mislead.

20. If you need to ask the price, you can’t afford it.

21. Other people know things you don’t know. And you don’t know what you don’t know.

22. The one who has done it knows more than the one who read about it.

23. In other words, knowledge is only rumor until it lives in the muscle.

24. If loving your neighbour was easy, everyone would do it.

25. We all defend ourselves. To admit that we are wrong takes true courage.

26. In the Bible God finds those who are not seeking him and conceals himself from those who do seek him. This is the wisdom of God.

27. Humans haven’t made much progress after the fall. We just have nicer stuff.

28. A clever man positions himself to gain much if he is right and to lose little should he turn out to be wrong. Most people risk too much for minimal gain.

29. The best things in life are the result of impulsive decisions. So are the worst mistakes.

30. Bad or incomplete information leads to a bad decision. The one with the information you need to know is the one who didn’t talk at the meeting.

31. Seek first the kingdom of God.

32. Don’t be afraid, only fear God.

33. Every government inefficiency keeps us from tyranny.