We are taught that we must become upright people who, in God’s sight, are blameless and fully keep His commandments. “In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly” [(Modern Translation: “When Herod was king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the division of Abijah, and his wife Elizabeth also came from the family of Aaron. They were righteous before God and faithfully kept all the Lord’s commandments and regulations without fault”)] (Luke 1:5–6). While meditating on this passage, I would like to draw out the lessons given to us: (1) The author of Luke’s Gospel, Luke, first wrote to Theophilus about John the Baptist’s parents. The father’s name was “Zechariah” (meaning, “The LORD remembers...
An exemplary leader [Nehemiah 5:14-19] Steven Berglas, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School, had this to say about ‘Success syndrome’. Even if you get a great sense of accomplishment, if you don't have the basic character to sustain it, you're headed for ruin. He believes that such people fall for one or more of the following four A's: (1) Arrogance, (2) Painful feeling of Aloneness, (3) Destructive Adventure-Seeking, (4) Adultery. These 4 things are that people with weak character always ask for too high a price to pay. One thing to keep in mind here is that no amount of time, money, or even prestige will ever get you past the valley you're in, where you've fallen into one or more of the four A's. The reason is because the cracks in character grow deeper and more destructive over time. Whether we lead people at home, at work, or at gatherings, we must not forget that character is our most import...