Love
The Value of Virtue
Modern society has rapidly replaced meaningful virtue embodied in people’s lives with vapid symbolism rooted in identity politics. Rather than encouraging individuals to aspire to self-improvement, higher purpose, and moral refining, the wisdom of the social media masses calls for universal validation keyed to their own perceptions of self-importance. The problem Patrick Moynihan described in…
Read MoreThe Pattern for Social Stability
The last few years American society has experienced a rapid decline in basic social stability. One by one, various cornerstones of morality and civility either have eroded beyond recognition through neglect or have been destroyed through the combined blows of political activism and judicial overreach. Competing factions on the social and political spectrum have grown…
Read MoreA Prudent Wife
The book of Proverbs addresses some of the most practical aspects of life. From handling finances to dealing with people, its inspired wisdom offers meaningful insight to all willing to listen. However, one of the interesting observations available in a book largely written by a man whose home life left much to be desired pertains…
Read MoreHow to Overcome Strife
Division and strife dominate the news cycle once again. The ability of people and the media to pivot so quickly from division over candidates to division over pandemic policies of various kinds to division over ethnicity and injustice boggles the mind. It appears impossible for people in today’s world to engage in serious issues without…
Read MorePortrait of a Lovely Woman
Geography and era have a tremendous effect on how people see beauty. A basic survey of art history demonstrates this principle rather quickly, but even a quick review of noted Hollywood beauties over the last century would produce a similar result. The standards for female beauty in Northern Europe, Central Africa, the Middle East, and…
Read MoreThe Gift of a Child
Sweet Talk with a Bitter Aftertaste
The coronavirus pandemic has created a bizarre combination of reactions ranging from mocking irresponsibility to mass hysteria and panic. In the early days, ignorance spread far more quickly than knowledge, and people assumed a level of safety rooted in misinformation. This quickly transformed into modern society’s best impersonation of a zombie apocalypse as normal people…
Read MoreThe Path to Purity
The challenge of chaste living and moral purity, especially sexually, in the midst of a culture seemingly dedicated to the promotion of depravity, places Christians today on common ground with God’s people of ages past. While the temptation may sometimes come through today’s technology, the flesh to which it appeals has proved consistent throughout generations…
Read MoreGuarding Your Heart
The oft-given advice to “Follow your heart” may rank among the worst popular concepts in history. It encourages selfishness, eliminates standards, and eschews guidance. It treats desire as a virtue and personal experience as truth. While Postmodernism has created an entire culture around this, its existence predates the modern era by millennia. In fact, Eve…
Read MoreHow Can a Man Be Righteous Before God?
Job had made a powerful case, demonstrating that suffering comes upon all people regardless of the righteousness of their behavior. However, Bildad the Shuhite refused to acknowledge—at least directly—the strength of Job’s case. Instead, he turned his attention to the distance that lies between God and all men, emphasizing the exalted nature of God compared…
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