28 January 2024
Two-Minute Features | 04 February 2024 | 21 January 2024

Listing Our Mistakes Helps Us, Part 2 (TMF:2280)

Friday, February 02, 2024
Peace to Live By: Listing Our Mistakes Helps Us, Part 2 (TMF:2280) - Daniel Litton
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       It’s funny how it is, that at the time we made the mistake, it seemed much bigger than it does now. Isn’t that often the case? At the time, it seemed like the world was going to end. It seemed like our life might even be over, or permanently damaged. Yet, in considering the mistake we have written down on a piece of paper, we realize quickly that at the time we overhyped it. Usually it wasn’t as bad as we made it out. Another benefit to a brief considering of past mistakes is that we can also write down what we learned from making the mistake. Hopefully we learned something beneficial, or perhaps a couple of things, that we then put into practice in our lives. Perhaps we learned not to be so reckless in our stock investments, presuming upon the future that this stock is going to keep going up and up. Maybe it was learned that skipping your child’s recital didn’t go over too well. It didn’t go over well with the child, for he was upset for several days afterward, and it didn’t go well with the wife. When we learn new things, we can put those things into practice to give us happier lives.

Listing Our Mistakes Helps Us, Part 1 (TMF:2279)

Thursday, February 01, 2024
Peace to Live By: Listing Our Mistakes Helps Us, Part 1 (TMF:2279) - Daniel Litton
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       I am a firm believer that we should forget our mistakes. Why, even the Apostle Paul instructed the Philippian church to do so by his example. That’s what Paul practiced, and we are to be imitators of Paul. We also know that when we ‘let go’ of our mistakes, that they are buried in the soil of our brains. And like I said, that’s where they should be. Nonetheless, it can be beneficial, at a certain designated time, to dig up those mistakes briefly and consider them. How can it make us happier to dig up our past mistakes and look at them? Well, in doing so, we can note first that none of them destroyed our lives. It’s funny how it is, that at the time we made the mistake, it seemed much bigger than it does now. Isn’t that often the case? At the time, it seemed like the world was going to end. It seemed like our life might even be over, or permanently damaged. Yet, in considering the mistake we have written down on a piece of paper, we realize quickly that at the time we overhyped it. Usually it wasn’t as bad as we made it out.

Commandments Often Don’t Explain, Part 2 (TMF:2278)

Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Peace to Live By: Commandments Often Don’t Explain, Part 2 (TMF:2278) - Daniel Litton
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       Another reason that the Bible often doesn’t explain the ‘why not’ behind not doing a certain behavior is simply because God doesn’t have to always explain why he doesn’t want us to do something. In other words, we keep a commandment, especially if it is an ordinance, in order to be pleasing to him. And by being pleasing to him, after the task is accomplished, we feel happy, right? Of course we feel happy. It might be so obvious to everyone, for instance, why Christians get water-baptized after believing in Jesus. We may even think that’s something we really don’t need to do. But if we don’t do that, then there is likely going to be that ‘cloud’ hanging over our heads nagging us to do it. The two greatest commandments have to do with love, right? Yes, we are first to love God with our whole beings, and then we are also to love our neighbors as we already love ourselves. These two commandments are given in the forms of summaries in the Bible. And, at times, it may not seem obvious why are we to do them. We may not feel like showing love all the time. But, in practice we know that when we do show love always, that we feel better, and we find that we are indeed happier.

Commandments Often Don’t Explain, Part 1 (TMF:2277)

Tuesday, January 30, 2024
Peace to Live By: Commandments Often Don’t Explain, Part 1 (TMF:2277) - Daniel Litton
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       As we read our Bibles, we notice there are commandments for sure. We are instructed on what the ‘big’ sins are, and that we should avoid these big sins at all costs. Why is that? Why do we avoid the big sins? We don’t practice them because they will take away our happiness. Sometimes this occurs right away, but for other sins it may not happen until later. The consequences may be delayed. And that delay only adds to the deception, and masks the fact that the sin actually is going to cause us harm. The point is that commandments are often shortcuts to help us. In saying they are shortcuts, I mean that they often don’t give us an explanation of why doing whatever it is is bad or wrong. They often don’t explain why acting in that way will take away our happiness. The quick form, however, the one word or sentence, allows us to easily remember what a sin actually is. They are like sayings or dictums. It’s good when we can easily identify what sin is so that we can avoid it.

Not Bullying Others, but Helping Them, Part 4 (TMF:2276)

Monday, January 29, 2024
Peace to Live By: Not Bullying Others, but Helping Them, Part 4 (TMF:2276) - Daniel Litton
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       I don’t care how good of a reputation he had had, for me he was too pushy, and he ended up not getting any more of my business as a result. I am a firm believer in that the more a group jokes, the more something is wrong. There shouldn’t be a need for excessive joking, even good natured joking. If you’re part of a Bible study that is full of joking, then something is wrong. Sure, you can a little bit, but excessive joking means the group is trying to ward off an ‘uncomfortable’ vibe for some reason. This can be the result of self-righteousness or pride in the air. It can the result of people in the group feeling inferior, and not having enough self-worth. But joking or teasing should never get to the point of bullying. If the person doesn’t take well to your joke, note that and don’t do it again. Don’t become a harasser. By avoiding treating others wrong, you only help yourself to feel good. And by stepping in when someone else is doing wrong, you can bring peace to a potentially bad situation.