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Remembering is a skill. Sure, there are those who have been blessed with a good memory. But they are exceptions. For most of us, remembering is a skill, like speaking in public, singing, reading, thinking, or swimming. We improve at a skill by hard work—direct effort applied with a good deal of concentration, mixed with proper know-how.

It occurred to me (thanks to an insightful message I once heard from my friend Ray Stedman) that when people receive what they deserve, they are robbed of the joy of gratitude.

Is the big courtroom win worth it? Jesus said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

What is true of grand music, great writing, priceless art, and quality construction is also true of the way some still practice medicine or law, do their architectural drawings, teach their students, type their letters, preach their sermons, play their instruments, cook meals, fix cars, coach teams, sell insurance, run a business, a home, a school, a restaurant, or a ministry.

I am just about convinced that it is the teenaged believer, struggling to reach a measure of spiritual equilibrium, who becomes the most disillusioned when one of his or her “spiritual parents” defects or lives hypocritically.

But certain things must be kept in mind. First, the Holy Spirit gives nobody infallible interpretations. Second, piety is a help to interpretation, but it is not a substitute for knowledge or study or intelligence.

It’s easy to forget all that, especially in a day when we hunger for spiritual leaders whom we can respect and follow. Put flawed human beings on a pedestal and they are bound to topple, fail, and disappoint, but God’s Word is holy, inerrant, and totally reliable. To Him be the glory.

One of the toughest assignments in life is to communicate clearly what happened during a time when emotions were high. People who “fall in love” can hardly describe it. Those who endure a calamity or experience a sudden loss often convey the information in a confused manner.

You look more spiritual whether you are or not. Being outstanding arouses suspicion, being average doesn’t. As Elbert Hubbard once said, “To mediocrity, genius is unforgivable.”

I’m honest; I’ve searched the Scriptures to find statements that support such an extreme emphasis on cutting every economic corner. The only place I find support for that (you’re not going to like this) is in the personal realm, not in the realm of God’s work.