rules for living

I hate those "All I Really Need to Know I Learned From . . . " books. Maybe, just maybe, it was a clever idea the first time, though I'm not even sure about that, but then it attained pet rock status and it was all over, real fast.

Yesterday I saw a poster at a Christian high school proclaiming, All I Need To Know I Learned From the Bible. "OOh," I thought, "the trump card!!" And I of course, did not bother to read any further, because I know all that stuff already.

The poster did bring to mind a passage I had read recently in I Thessalonians, though - sort of a list of rules for living that the apostle Paul wrote down for the church in Thessalonica. I thought when I read it, "Wow, if we could do this in our house, we really wouldn't need to worry about much This pretty much covers the bases." It looked to me like something worthy of the front of my refrigerator.

Here it is:

Encourage one another.

Build one another up.

Appreciate those who diligently labor among you and give you instruction.

Live in peace with one another.

Admonish the unruly.

Encourage the fainthearted.

Help the weak.

Be patient with everyone.

See that no one repays another with evil for evil.

Always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men.

Rejoice always.

Pray without ceasing.

In everything give thanks.

Examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.

Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss!