Being frustrated is disagreeable, but the real disasters of life begin when you get what you want."

—Irving Kristol (1920—), U.S. author

When I was in seminary, I saw the film The Servant, which featured the great English actor Dirk Bogarde. The film tells the story of the second son of an entitled and wealthy British family. The son has come back to England after serving in the army in India…. The film takes place in England some time in the early 20th century at the height of British imperial power. Returning home, the young man ...

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the character, Edmund Pevensie, personifies gluttony, the sin of excessively using things in themselves legitimate, normally associated with the appetite, and, in effect, making one's belly the god he serves (Phil. 3:19). Jadis, the White Witch, exploits Edmund's weakness when she meets him in a snowy woods, offering him a warm drink and Turkish Delight, his ...

A grandfather was talking to his grandson. “Grandson,” he said, “there are two wolves living in my heart and they are at war with each other. One is vicious and cruel, the other is wise and kind.”

“Grandfather,” said the alarmed grandson, “which one will win?”

The grandfather paused before he said, “The one I feed.”

Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line dividing good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either—but right through every human heart.

No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means.

This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting it, not by giving in. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it ...

There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud.

—Author, poet Carl Sandburg (1878–1967)

In his book "Wounds That Heal," Stephen Seamands shares a helpful analogy regarding sin and spiritual warfare that he learned from Charles Kraft. Seamands writes:

As significant as demonic influence may be, it is never the primary issue in someone's life. It may be a deadly, destructive consequence or fruit, but it is not the root problem. Charles Kraft has a helpful analogy. He says demons are like ...

At one time, Mike Tyson was the most feared heavyweight boxer in the ring. Based on an interview with Tyson, Jon Saraceno revealed what went wrong:

...

"I'll never be happy," he says. "I believe I'll die alone. I would want it that way. I've been a loner all my life with my secrets and my pain. I'm really lost, but I'm trying to find myself. I'm really a sad, pathetic case."

The divorced father of six ...

Bill Wilson was the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. For that accomplishment, Time magazine named Wilson one of the Top 100 People of the 20th century. But Wilson never found freedom from his addictive behavior.

One author noted that, "Despite his victory over drink, Wilson remained incurably addictive. He chain-smoked himself into terminal emphysema. Even on his death bed, he puffed incorrigibly as ...