Posts by John Staiger (Page 85)

Hans Christian Anderson’s classic story, “The Emperor’s New Clothes” is not likely to disappear from our shelves in the near future. The pivotal point in the story, where a child yells out the obvious, “The Emperor has got no clothes,” (the adults stayed silent in the face of fear, vanity and greed), speaks sense into us all. This is reminiscent of the children praising Jesus as Messiah at his Triumphal Entry. When the religious leaders complained, Jesus replied, “Yea; have…

I have on more than one occasion been almost embarrassed to have received gifts from those whom I know could not afford to be so generous. Naturally, I received the gifts with thankfulness and have prayed God’s richest blessings upon them.My prayers were heard, I know, but I could rest assured they were answered before I even uttered them. These givers are blessed of God. For they already have a heart to give—and long to give more. Others say they…

Like a city that is broken into and without walls Is a man who has no control over his spirit (Proverbs 19:28).Being called a loose cannon is never a compliment.Action movies are usually very good at employing characters who specialize in shock and confusion to heighten the sense of drama. The unpredictability of the antagonist forms the framework for the challenges that the hero must overcome.Such a person is fine in a movie. But in real life he is best…

Abraham Lincoln was not always the wise, calm, and long-suffering man we know him to have been as President.In 1842 (18 years before becoming President) he decided to criticise James Shields for his part in the bankrupting of an Illinois bank. Many depositors were disadvantaged.Not only did Lincoln publicly chastise Shields in an open debate, he also wrote a letter to the Editor of a newspaper, under the pen name, ‘Rebecca’, mocking him. Shields found out it was Lincoln and…

My favourite story about the ‘triumph-of-the-common-man’ comes out of India. In recent years the Indian government, wanting to move its citizens closer to a cashless society, arbitrarily replaced the larger banknotes with new ones. But worse was that they put an automatic use-by date on to old ones. Old banknotes had to be spent or deposited into a bank account and new ones issued. If held on to, they became glorified monopoly money. Since many Indians preferred to store their…

Zsa Zsa Gabor lived quite the life. She packed into her 99 years a lot more living than the average person might only imagine they could. To skim the surface, suffice it to say, here are but a few highlights: The Hungarian beauty queen (Miss Hungary 1936) moved to the USA to become a well-known Hollywood actress and socialite. Her two equally glamorous sisters were also famous amongst the social elite. Her profile being lifted to even greater heights by…

If you were put in charge of the moral development of your city, what would you do? What kind of people could you rely on to lift the moral standards of your town?Surely, the best people to look to are those who are already doing it. And doing it without even being asked. Those whose concern for their fellow man makes them an automatic blessing to your community. These are the people I know who are already doing it:*Christians gathered…

Isaac was a man who feared God. Sadly, his sons didn’t start with his convictions. Jacob lived up to his name by supplanting his brother, and Esau lived up to God’s description of him as being ‘ungodly’ (Heb.12:16). Allowing Jacob to trick him out of his birth right, and later its blessings, did not help his cause. When Esau came in from hunting, every fibre of his being was full of hopes for the future. He knew that his father’s…

You have to wonder, if Jesus himself walked into our worship services and asked, “Are you ready?” would he get the desired response? Don’t be too hard on me for saying so. For it was Jesus himself who asked the haunting question: “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Lk.18:8).The fact that Jesus even asked this question should send shivers down our spines. After all, if you haven’t noticed the ‘Be Ready’ motif running…

The last time I wrote on the subject of ‘one person having an intense dislike for another person’ my article ended up lonelier than a vegan snack bar at a Christian Men’s Challenge. So, I thought I’d be able to trick one or two of you into getting to at least paragraph three by not mentioning the verse until now… Proverbs 10:18 “One who conceals hatred has lying lips,And one who spreads slander is a fool. ”What is it about…