The Wisdom Chronicle is designed to bring nuggets of wisdom from the dozens of books I read every year. I endeavor to share the best of what I have gleaned. The determination of relevance lies with you. Blessings, Jim Whiddon

331. GOD’S OWNERSHIP “God gave humanity authority over the world’s resources but not ownership. We have received what we have in the way a fund manager receives other people’s money to invest, or as, in ancient times, the steward of an estate received his authority over the estate. The steward of a great estate lived comfortably and enjoyed the fruits of his labor, but he never made the mistake of thinking that the wealth under his care was all his. He was tasked to manage it in a way that pleased the owner and was fair to his fellow servants.

This concept is counterintuitive for most Americans. We believe that if we have had success in life, it is mainly the result of our own hard work, and we therefore have an absolute right to use our money as we see fit. But while the Bible agrees industriousness or the lack of it is an irreplaceable part of why you are successful or not (Proverbs 6:9-11; 10:4), it is never the main reason. In short, all your resources are in the end the gift of God.”

Excerpt From: Keller, Timothy. “Generous Justice.”

332. GOD’S HUMAN DESIGN Did you know that our jaw muscles stimulate chemicals being released in our body which help us maintain our proper weight? The more the muscles in our jaws are used – like when we eat natural “tougher” foods to chew – the less “tummy fat” we have. Processed foods require far less chewing and thus are less effective in this realm. Twenty to thirty chews per bite is the target. [In a self-conducted experiment – Twinkies require only six chews. – jw] Another example of God doing all things for those He loves – those He made!

— Unknown

333. CHRISTIANITY “The Christian religion, when brought to the original purity and simplicity of its benevolent Institutor, is a religion of all others most friendly to liberty, science, and the freest expansion of the human mind.”

— T. Jefferson

334. THE PLEDGE In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the addition of “under God” in order to differentiate the United States from the officially atheist Soviet Union: “In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America’s heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country’s most powerful resource in peace and war.”

335. GOD’S BLESSINGS ON OUR NATION “There are no necessary evils in government. Its evils exist only in its abuses. If it would confine itself to equal protection, and, as Heaven does its rains, shower its favors alike on the high and the low, the rich and the poor, it would be an unqualified blessing. . . .

Let us firmly rely on that kind Providence which I am sure watches with peculiar care over the destinies of our Republic, and on the intelligence and wisdom of our countrymen. Through His abundant goodness and their patriotic devotion our liberty and Union will be preserved.”

— President A. Jackson

336. HARVARD “Harvard’s founders created the school with this mission: “To be plainly instructed and consider well that the main end of your life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ.”

This was Harvard’s reason for existing. Harvard’s leaders placed very high value on the moral development of their students during the 1700s and 1800s. They responded to student infractions like vandalism, drunkenness, and sexual misconduct with resolute seriousness. They emphasized character and urged students to live “god-fearing, upright lives.”

In their hiring practices, Harvard hired first for mission fit. When interviewing faculty members, they looked preeminently at character, well before examining academic credentials. The curriculum and extracurricular content included Christian worldview training, promoted a “sacred regard for truth,” and emphasized the study of virtues.”

Excerpt From: Peter Greer, Chris Horst & Anna Haggard. “Mission Drift.”

337. PG13 “the Washington Post’s Liza Mundy, who made an in-depth study of the genre, wrote “it seems fair to say that kids will hear more bad language, and more forms of bad language, in PG-13 movies than they will in Rs.” In Mundy’s account, Nell Minow, whose father Newton Minow was an FCC commissioner, “says that her father always marveled at how parents will let Hollywood say things to their children that they would have an ordinary person on the street arrested for saying.”

Excerpt From: West, Diana. “The Death of the Grown-Up.”

338. CONFESSION “The word confession is a compound word in the language of the New Testament. It comes from a word meaning “to say” and another meaning “the same as.” Confession literally means that “we say the same as God” about our sin. We agree with Him regarding it. Sin is not some little vice that we can laugh off. It is not something we can excuse by saying everyone is doing it. It is not some sort of mistake that we can minimize by trying to convince ourselves that it is not as bad as the sins many others commit. Sin is so serious that it necessitated the cross. Often, our own guilt is God’s way of saying, “You have sinned.” Confession, then, is our way of saying, “I agree with You, God. I have sinned.”

Excerpt From: O. S. Hawkins. “The Joshua Code.”

339. BIBLE ERRORS? There are thousands of errors in New Testament. Yes, I am afraid so. The original manuscripts copied by human scribes in the early centuries AD made many mistakes. However, of those, 99% were in these three categories: A) use of the article “the” which was uniquely prolific in the Greek language, B) misspelling due to differing languages. example: “John” with two N’s instead of one, C) word order mix up (I.e. “Christ Jesus” vs. “Jesus Christ”).

The other 1% are word translation errors that scholars- whether conservative or liberal, they agree – do NOT change ANY aspect of Christian teaching. So, when someone says I don’t believe in God because the Bible has been “changed,” understand this argument is a smoke screen to avoid conforming their lives to what the Bible says.

— David Marvin, Watermark Church

340. GOVT STRINGS “With government shekels come government shackles.”

— Richard Land speaking on topic of schools taking federal dollars.