"I cultivate my flowers and burn my weeds." -- Charles Spurgeon.
Charles Spurgeon was a Baptist/Calvinist preacher from England, who wrote and spoke widely during the mid-1800's. The man preached the gospel to crowds numbering 10,000, and his writings are still sought after today. He was also a cigar smoker and NEVER apologized for that, even though he was criticized for it on a regular basis.
The "burn my weeds" quote is classic, but he also had some other great quotes. Here are a few I found scattered about on the web:
"A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you and were helped by you will remember you when forget-me-nots have withered. Carve your name on hearts, not on marble."
"A vigorous temper is not altogether an evil. Men who are easy as an old shoe are generally of little worth. "
"I do not think I should care to go on worshipping a Madonna even if she did wink. One cannot make much out of a wink. We want something more than that from the object of our adoration."
"Must is a hard nut to crack, but it has a sweet kernel."
"The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation."
Wow! Funny how the recognizable men of God have devolved. So many men whose names and faces we see on books, posters and TV in the name of Christ seem to lack a backbone. When I read about men like Spurgeon, who never felt a need to apologize or make excuses for anything in his life, I can't help but think we need more men like him in this world. Unfortunately, political correctness has not only taken over our society, but has infiltrated our faith. Our church leaders have to worry about image; they need to put forth a good face and make sure they don't or represent anything that is deemed "unacceptable".
Christian men need the testicular fortitude to stand up for authentic faith. We need to look to men like Spurgeon to inspire us to be bold and not shy away in the face of legalism or succumb to reality TV-type feminizing. Becoming a Christian does not mean I have become a docile, doe-eyed eunich.
“Drinking beer is easy. Trashing your hotel room is easy. But being a Christian, that's a tough call. That's rebellion.” - Alice Cooper
2 comments:
“If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch - and - toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them; “Hold on!”
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!”
Rudyard Kipling
Read the 101 Greatest Quotes of All Time
http://www.carlhuttononline.com/
yes... another great cigar thinker.
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