B. Franklin: "Rules for Making Oneself a Disagreeable Companion" (1750)

I came across this excerpt in William J. Bennett's The Spirit of America (1997, pp. 149-150).

Benjamin Franklin freely admitted that there was a time in his life when he himself followed these rules for making himself disagreeable in company... [he] noted that a friend once told him that he could be quite rude and argumentative when he was trying to make a point. This friend made an impression, and Franklin changed. Here... [in the "Rules" below], Franklin with his usual sharp wit, offers some advice to those who still don't get it. "Self-esteem," as Franklin describes it, is certainly not a virtue, for it ends up esteeming itself.

"Rules, by the Observation of which, a Man of Wit and Learning may nevertheless make himself a disagreeable Companion, " Pennsylvania Gazette, November 15, 1750.

Your business is to Shine; therefore, you must by all means prevent the shining of others, for their Brightness may make yours the less distinguished. To this end,

1. If possible, engross the whole Discourse; and when other Matter fails, talk much of your-self, your Education, your Knowledge, your Circumstances, your Successes in Business, your Victories in Disputes, your own wise Sayings and Observations on particular Occassions, etc.

2. If when you are out of Breath, one of the Company should seize the opportunity of saying something; watch his Words, and if possible, find somewhat either in his Sentiment or Expression, immediately to contradict and raise a Dispute upon. Rather than fail, criticise even his Grammar.

3. If another should be saying an indisputably good Thing; either give no Attention to it; or interrupt him; or draw away the Attention of others; or if you can guess what he would be at, be quick and say it before him; or, if he gets it said, and you perceive the Company pleased with it, own it to be a good Thing, and remark that it had been said by...some other eminent Writer; thus you deprive him of the Reputation he might have gained by it, and gain some yourself...

4. When modest Men have been thus treated by you a few times, they will [choose] ever after to be silent in your Company; then you may shine on without Fear of a Rival; rallying them at the same time for their Dullness, which will be to you a new Fund of Wit.

Thus, you will be sure to please yourself. The polite Man aims at pleasing others, but you shall go beyond him even in that...

Mary and Zechariah Rejoice (Luke 1:26-45)

This is the continuation of the first part of Luke, chapter 1. The angel Gabriel has visited Zechariah the priest, and to the astonishment of Zechariah, his wife Elizabeth, and others, Elizabeth at an old age is promised a son, John.

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Luke 1:48

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
30 But the angel said to her,

“Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Luke 1:38

Mary Visits Elizabeth

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Mary's Song

46 And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”
61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

Zechariah in Luke 1:62-63

Zechariah’s Song

67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

John the Baptist preached a message of repentance from sins
to prepare one's heart for receiving Jesus. 

Introduction to the Christmas Story (Luke 1:1-25)

Introduction (The Gospel according to Luke, chapter 1, verses 1-25)

1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.

8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.

11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him:

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. 16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

The angel, Gabriel, appeared to Zechariah the priest.

18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home. 24 After this, his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.

Zechariah and Elizabeth with promised son, John the Baptist

25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

In the next months, both Elizabeth and Mary would realize that they have been chosen to help fulfill the miraculous plans of God by Elizabeth giving birth to John (later called "John the Baptist") and Mary giving birth to Jesus (the Messiah).

Thank You, November Mornings!

I stumbled out of bed this morning and peeked out the curtain to see--SNOW!! It was a pleasant and shocking surprise just a week before Thanksgiving. The autumn trees are shedding their colorful leaves as the cold winter temps are creeping in. The change in seasons inspired me to find poems!

"The Last Leaves of November," by Robert Charity

November Morning

"A tingling, misty marvel 

  Blew hither in the night, 

And now the little peach-trees 

  Are clasped in frozen light. 

Upon the apple-branches 

  An icy film is caught, 

With trailing threads of gossamer 

  In pearly patterns wrought. 

The autumn sun, in wonder, 

  Is gayly peering through 

This silver-tissued network 

  Across the frosty blue. 

The weather-vane is fire-tipped, 

  The honeysuckle shows 

A dazzling icy splendor, 

  And crystal is the rose." 

~Evaleen Stein, November Morning

The Morns Are Meeker

"The morns are meeker than they were,

The nuts are getting brown;

The berry's cheek is plumper,

The rose is out of town. 

The maple wears a gayer scarf,

The field a scarlet gown.

Lest I should be old-fashioned,

I'll put a trinket on." 

~Emily Dickinson

Thanksgiving

"Give me the end of the year an' its fun 

When most of the plannin' an' toilin' is done; 

Bring all the wanderers home to the nest, 

Let me sit down with the ones I love best, 

Hear the old voices still ringin' with song, 

See the old faces unblemished by wrong, 

See the old table with all of its chairs 

An' I'll put soul in my Thanksgivin' prayers." 

~Edgar A. Guest, Thanksgiving

We Have Flowers

It has been a week since the tragic events unfolded in Paris. Listen to this sweet conversation between a father and son as he tries to comfort his son in Paris. It is in French with English subtitles.

NBC's coverage which includes the video in segments:

Le Petit Journal video from the CNN YouTube channel:

Do You Love Our Country?

Much is being said online these days about terrorism, illegal immigrants, refugees, and open vs. closed borders. Everyone everywhere has an opinion (even me!). I came across this excerpt written by Benjamin Rush in 1773. He analyzed the virtues associated with patriotism, love for fellow man, and moral and religious duty. I thought his words were timely and inspirational.

To His Fellow Countrymen

"Patriotism is as much a virtue as justice, and is as necessary for the support of societies as natural affection is for the support of families. The Amor Patriae is both a moral and a religious duty. It comprehends not only the love of our neighbors but of millions of our fellow creatures, not only of the present but of future generations. This virtue we find constitutes a part of the first characters in history. The holy men of old, in proportion as they possessed a religious[n] were endowed with a public spirit. What did Moses forsake and suffer for his countrymen! What shining examples of Patriotism do we behold in Joshua, Samuel, Maccabeus, and all the illustrious princes, captains, and prophets amongst the Jews! St. Paul almost wishes himself accursed for his countrymen and kinsmen after the flesh. Even our Savior himself gives a sanction to this virtue. He confined his miracles and gospel at first to his own country."

Amor Patriae: Love of One's Country

In my motherly opinion, in a time when we are debating whether or not to let refugees into our country, it seems necessary that we ask those needing refuge, "Do you love our country?"

Our melting-pot society is blended with varying religions and philosophical spirits of opinion. However, I relate to the sentiment expressed above in that our public spirit (patriotism) and moral spirit (religion) should have in the end the goal of demonstrating our love of country and our love and support of fellow citizens. Patriotism for a cause or for a religion that does not reflect life and liberty is not true patriotism or true religion.

Bennett, William J. "On Patriotism." The Spirit of America. Simon & Schuster, 1997, p. 41.

Walking with God

What does a walk with God actually mean? How does God want us to live? Here are some scriptures I've copied from the devotional book: Footprints: Scripture with Reflections Inspired by the Best-Loved Poem by Margaret Fishback Powers.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I [the Lord God] give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road. When you lie down and when you get up.
Deuteronomy 6:5-7

He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellow man, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.
Psalm 15:2-5

We are the temple of the living God. As God has said, "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people."
2 Corinthians 6:16

This is what the Lord says, "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."
Jeremiah 6:16

Live a life worthy of the Lord...please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.
Colossians 1:10

If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
1 John 1:7

I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.
Leviticus 26:12

When I find myself overwhelmed with the concerns of this world, sometimes it is just good to be reminded of scriptural truths. The Bible is a comfort to a weary soul. It just takes some time to understand.