Photo: ‘Pinecone’ by Aaron Burden at unsplash.com
Thought for the Week
The phrase “be the change you want to see” has been attributed to many people. But in one form or another it’s been around for as long as anyone can remember. Why? Because its message is timeless: Leading by example isn’t simply the best way to produce positive results…
It’s the only way.
“How can you say, ‘Friend, let me take that speck out of your eye,’ while ignoring the log in your own? Stop pretending you’re something you’re not!* Remove the log from your own eye, and then you’ll see clearly to remove the speck from your friend’s eye.” ~Luke 6:42 (paraphrased)
“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.” ~Socrates
“Do not be angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be.” ~Thomas á Kempis
“Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” ~Carl Jung
“Forgive the inexcusable—because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” ~C.S. Lewis
And remember:
“Sometimes people with the worst pasts end up creating the best futures.” ~Unknown
*Note: Jesus used the Greek word for “actor”
Mitch Teemley 
Thank you, Mitch. This is a beautiful post (as are the quotes). I try to remind myself of this each day. Blessings to you and yours.
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You too, Karla.
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🙂
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Mitch, thank you for these quotations!
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luke 6:17 old things are retired
every gift is from above
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That’s not what Luke 6:17 say, Rudy.
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how do you know it has luke 6:17 if you quoted 6:42
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Open the gospel of Luke in your Bible, Rudy, then turn to chapter 6, and find verse 17. Then you can find out for yourself what it says.
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Amen to that!
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I’ve had occasion of late to quote the Luke verse. Ahem.
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A thoughtful curation of quotes with a powerful message. Thank you for this reminder.
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My pleasure, Deborah, and thank you.
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Nice quotes.
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A powerful selection of quotes. Thanks for sharing them.
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These are excellent quotes, and so important for us to grasp what needs to be addressed in our own hearts, minds, lives, behaviors. Thank you, Mitch.
[[ I know I am being pitifully picky, but… regarding your footnote: as far as we know, Jesus did not use Greek; he most likely used Aramaic. So, Luke (or possibly whoever translated Luke’s ‘gospel’ into the Greek we know about) used the Greek word for ‘actor,’ not Jesus. Sorry. I am sometimes a stickler for linguistic accuracy. It was my actual job for a lot of years. ]]
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I thought about that when I typed it, Ed, but let it slide. My assumption (since I understand no equivalent word existed for our modern “hypocrite”) was that Jesus used the Aramaic word for actor and Luke transliterated it into Greek.
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Yes, that seems likely; and one certainly hopes that is the case.
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Hi Mitch,
I especially love the last quote that those who have the worst pasts make the best futures. Love it. So true for all of us Pauls in the family.
Have a great weekend.
Gary
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Yep! Have a great weekend as well, Gary.
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The one about “being the change you want to see…” is something I say often online and to my kids. For me it goes along with ‘actions speak louder than words.’
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