• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Achuckallen

Instigating Better

  • Home
  • Blog
    • AChuck’s Top 10
  • Weekday Podcast
  • About Chuck
  • Resources
    • Devotional Resources
  • Sugar Hill Church
  • Contact Chuck

Paradox Plus

May 3, 2017 by AChuckAllen

paradox

Years ago, I read the Paradoxical Commandments. I immediately thought, “this is life-altering thinking.” To adopt this lifestyle would require empathy, compassion, love, patience, kindness, godliness, and authenticity. I still think these are powerful words, so before I offer SIX OF MY OWN PARADOXICAL THOUGHTS, here are the original from Kent Keith, circa 1969.


  1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.

  2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
  3. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
  4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
  5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
  6. The biggest men with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
  7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
  8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
  9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.
  10. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

Good stuff, right? Well, here are my 6 Paradoxical Thoughts, circa May 2017:

  1. You desperately want to succeed, but failure is required if you truly succeed.
  2. Your past keeps reminding you that you’ve made a mess of your life, but God specializes in redeeming folks from their past. Let Him forgive you and move on.
  3. Serving people can get pretty messy and you will be taken advantage of. Give and serve anyway. Let the Divine sort that out.
  4. There’s a lot of reasons to be bitter, but anybody can be bitter. Make a choice to rise above it all and be better, not bitter. Besides, why be anybody, when you are already somebody.
  5. Grandma was right, “If you don’t have anything good to say, it’s your fault.” The world loves to find fault and deliver blame. Be the person that fixes problems, not blame. And end the curse of negative chatter by speaking positive, encouraging words.
  6. Everybody is seeking something more. Choose to seek peace, it’s the very best of all things, more. It’s life’s greatest commodity.

–AChuck

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Pocket
  • More
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
  • Print

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Primary Sidebar

Search this Site

FOLLOW MY BLOG

Want to get my blog posts in your inbox? Want to subscribe to my weekly 4forFriday email? Click here to sign-up.

Social

  • View achuckallen’s profile on Facebook
  • View AChuckAllen’s profile on Twitter
  • View AChuckAllen’s profile on Instagram
  • View chuckallen1’s profile on LinkedIn

Categories

  • ,America
  • 21 Good Vibes
  • 4ForFriday
  • 4theLOVE
  • 9/11
  • AChuck's Top 10
  • Advent
  • Advent Devotional
  • America
  • Christmas Meditation
  • COVID-19
  • DAILY PRODUCTIVITY PLAN
  • Discipleship
  • Do Good
  • Emotional Health
  • Family
  • Friendship
  • Fun
  • God and Country
  • grace
  • humor
  • International
  • laughter
  • Leadership
  • Life and Happiness
  • Marriage
  • Mental Health
  • Missions
  • Parenting
  • peace
  • Pigskin Picks
  • Politics
  • Power Routines
  • prayer
  • Reviews
  • Saturday Share
  • Scripture
  • Sermon Replay
  • SLU
  • Southern Border
  • Sunday Morning
  • The CLIMB
  • therapy
  • Uncategorized
  • Weekday Meditation

Topics

4ForFriday 9/11 America America. Equality American crises anxiety App Reviews BATTLING COVID-19 Better Together Book Reviews border Busy calendar Christmas ChuckAllen church Civility CORONAVIRUS courage Covid-19 Currency Decenvcy Easter Economy education Emotional Health faith forgiveness Friends Frustrated fun Goals God God Reads Good Books Good Friday Good Listens good reads Gratitude Happiness Hectic Helpothers Holy Week Hope humor Israel jesus Kindness laugh laughter Lead Leadership LIFE WITH CORONAVIRUS love Marriage masks Meditation Men Men's Discipleship Mental Health Mindfulness missionhouse Missions Music Music Review Name Calling New Currency New Normal New Year open schools overwhelmed Palm Sunday pandemic Passion Peace Personal Development politics Post Covid Post Pandemic Power Prayer Productivity psychology PURPOSEFUL Race Relations Reading Reading List rebuild the Bahamas Recommended Articles Recommended Reading Relationships religion Restaurant Reviews Reviews sacrifice Servanthood Southern Border Spiritual Growth Spiritual Health Spiriyual Growth Strength sugarhillbeyond sugarhillmissions tasks taxes Theology therapy Time Management Transformed USA vaccination Values Voice of reason work smart worry Worship yucatanmissions

Chuck Allen © 2023 · Site designed and built by Karen Brown · Log in

 

Loading Comments...