Paul W. Powell Legacy Library

When I read about yet another official in a place of public trust being found guilty of wrongdoing, my first inclination is to despair. I think, “People are worse than ever before.” Then I get it all back in perspective. It’s not that people are worse—the news coverage is just better. One writer said about youth, “Our youth now love luxu...

George E. Jones, former deputy editor of U.S. News, once raised the question, “Whatever became of belief in America?” He went on to point out that belief in America is being replaced by pessimism, distrust of leaders, and laxity in standards. The old certainties are passing away and skepticism and cynicism abound everywhere. Then he called belief “th...

13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? 14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. 15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son o...

27 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, 28 And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things? 29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will te...

1 Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. 2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. 3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. 5 They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other...

Polish poet Stanislaw Jerzy Lec once wrote: “You will always find some Eskimos ready to instruct Congolese on how to cope with heat waves.” That fellow must have had in mind the meddlesome people who are always trying to tell others how to take care of their business. Meddling in other people’s business is an age-old sin. Back in Solomon’s day...

It’s ridiculous what’s happening to marriage today. For every person who says, “I do,” there’s another who says, “I’m through.” With marriage, every passing day finds the distance between the marriage altar and the divorce court growing shorter and shorter. Why is this? It’s partly due to the fact that we hav...

One of the joys of today is that there is so much good fighting going on. By a good fight I mean an honest struggle between ideas and convictions. Yet there are so few who will fight. We are afflicted with moral laryngitis. We are like the lad who was asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” He replied, “Alive.” That is what we want mo...

Let me point to just one area where we need some people to “yell” a little. That is in the field of entertainment. By the time a child enters the first grade, he has spent more hours in front of a TV set than he will spend in a college classroom, and much of what he sees is filth. Can anyone deny that movies, TV, and books are dirtier than ever? But we don...