Far from putting doubts to rest, religion has the effect of intensifying them. It judges those who profess faith more harshly than it judges unbelievers. It holds them up to a standard of conduct so demanding that many of them inevitably fall short… For those who take...
This year, or this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practice ourselves the kind of behaviour we expect from other people.
We cannot discover our failure to keep God’s law except by trying our very hardest (and then failing). Unless we really try, whatever we say, there will always be at the back of our minds the idea that, if we try harder next time, we shall succeed in being completely...
There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.
Hope reminds us that the way things are…is precarious and in jeopardy. Hope reminds us not to absolutize the present, not to take it too seriously, not to treat it too honorably, because it will not last. Because hope has such a revolutionary function, it is more...
Genuine, untarnished, long-lasting living begins and is sustained when we know without a doubt that we can try, fail, try, fail, try, fail…and that God accepts and understands us. from Being Me
Shame seems most widespread and deepest among the very people who take rightness and goodness most seriously. It is a dimension of condemnation that reaches into the deepest levels of our souls. In shame we are self-condemned for being the person we are. It touches...
One of the greatest obstacles to your growing is the fear of making a fool of yourself. Any real step forward implies the risk of failure. And the really important steps imply the risk of complete failure. Yet we must make them, trusting in Christ. If I take this...