In the 1970s, inspired by the Good Samaritan parable, two Princeton University Behavioral Scientists, Professor John Darley, and Dr. Daniel Batson, experimented on prosocial behaviors. They embarked on a study of 40 students at the Princeton Theological Seminary....
“Payakap Nga!” Don’t you just feel oh-so-good each time someone approaches you and tells you this? Isn’t it so fulfilling to know that your ‘simple hug’ can make a person feel better and even make his day especially in times when this individual is feeling down? But...
Of all the Old Testament heroes I would someday like to meet, none has any more fascination for me than does David, the shepherd boy who became king. Though he was a warrior, this man had heart and compassion. Of all the thousands of individuals who are mentioned in...
Trouble…what does it mean? During his trials, Job said, “Man’s days are few and full of trouble.” We all run into trouble on some front. We sometimes handle trouble poorly because of our misguided expectation that “if God is for me and I am God’s child,” I will not...
"Then the LORD GOD MADE a WOMAN from the rib HE had taken out of the man , and HE brought her to the man" (Genesis 2:22). The word MADE literally is bana, which implies BEAUTY, DURABILITY, and STABILITY. The woman was never an afterthought. She was created as part of...
The headmaster of New College in Edinburgh, Scotland used to ask the blessing at the noon meal by praying, "O Thou who has endowed us with so many gifts, now grant to us just one more—a grateful heart." If there is one universal human failure, it is our habit of...
In the inaugural conference of the International Center for Self-Care Research held in Rome, Italy, they concluded that people with chronic conditions need to assume responsibility for their own health and be actively involved in self-care. Many other similar research...
Fond of pressuring and seeing others bow to your point of view? Are you in the habit of dictating others on stuff they're quite capable of doing, or giving advice even if they're not asking for it? Do you catch yourself doing all the talking and cut others off if they...
“As long as the Arabs hate us more than they love their children,” said Golda Meir, “there will be war.” The schoolteacher-turned-politician was a tough lady who saw plenty of hatred-driven conflict in her life. But could not an Arab living on the east bank of the...
Living our lives freed from our past can be refreshing. We can embrace an identity liberated from any cynicism, pride, fear, distrust, self-doubt, anxieties, etc. While self-reflection is necessary, reliving our past can be disturbing. Dwelling and magnifying our past...