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      • 8. From Common Sense to nonsense
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      • 12. For Goodness Sake
      • 13. A Perfect Prayer
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      • 15. What My Shoes have Taught Me
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      • 18. The Motivation of a Sucide Terrorest
      • 19. The Message of the Terorist
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      • 39. Are New Year's Resolutions Biblical?
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      • 40. One of the Greatest Need America
      • 41. Your Memorial Table
      • 42. George W. Bush Verses Saddam Hussein
      • 43. Learning to Listen
      • 44. The Problem with Gambling
      • 45. Memorial Day
      • 46. My Ecounter with an Orthhodox Jew
      • 47. Scott Free
      • 48. What My Auto Accident Taught Me
      • 49. The Decline in Family Living
      • 50. Give Me a Problem
      • 51. Decoding the Da Vinci Code
      • 52. Thanksgiving is not a Holiday
      • 53. What a Christmas Present!
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      • 54. What Do You Mean by that?
      • 55. What are Parents to Do?
      • 56. "The Passion of Christ"
      • 57. Martha Stewart's Greatest Lesson
      • 58. Same Sex Marriage
      • 59. A Tribute to a Servant
      • 60. Happy Marriages
      • 61. Independence
      • 62. Kerry's Logic
      • 63. The Olympic Spirit
      • 64. Playing Cards
      • 65. Cardinal Virtures
      • 66. Now that the Election is over
      • 67. Tribute to My Mother
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      • 68. Real Spiritual Growth
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      • 70. The Ten Commandments Controversy
      • 71. Do We Need a Pope?
      • 72. Everybody Loves Raymond
      • 73. Examples Worthy of Note
      • 74. How Two Different People Learned to Get Along
      • 75. "The God who Wasn't"
      • 76. Katrina and Now Rita!
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      • 78. "In God We Trust"
      • 79. The Redemption of Tookie Willaims
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      • 80. Is Religion a Problem?
      • 81. The Rights of the Born
      • 82. Did You Hear What She Said about Muslims?
      • 83. Judas: Betrayer or Best Friend?
      • 84. Weekend or Week--Beginning?
      • 85. A Tribute to My (Spiritual) Father
      • 86. Your Relationship to the Word of God
      • 87. What an Opportunity!
      • 88. America's Four Gods
      • 89. How to Deal with Your Enemies
      • 90. The Case for Systematic Exposition
      • 91. Don't Miss the Message
    • 2007 Articles 92-104 >
      • 92. I can Afford it!
      • 93. The Gospel according to Patricia
      • 94. The Functional Church
      • 95. Who wants to Deal with a Taxman?
      • 96. Vital Virtures
      • 97. Have You Grown up Yet?
      • 98. A July 4th Reminder
      • 99. The Volume of Silence
      • 100. Biblical Illiteracy
      • 101. A Modest Political Propospal
      • 102. How to Handle Credit Cards
      • 103. When it is Tough to be Thankful
      • 104. Romney's Religion
    • 2008 Articles 105-114 >
      • 105. Continue
      • 106. A Tribute to Jack
      • 107. Why Good Ftiday?
      • 108. Happy Birthday
      • 109. The Most Important Room in the House
      • 110. The 80-20 Rule
      • 111. Be Sensible
      • 112. To Be Like Christ
      • 113. Sweet Reasonableness
      • 114. The Other Benefit of Christmas
    • 2009 Articles 115-126 >
      • 115. What Determines who Obtains Eternal Life?
      • 116. The Healing Touch
      • 117. The Function of Dysfunction
      • 118. When Your World Falls Apart
      • 119. 24-7-365
      • 120. To Complain or not to Complain
      • 121. "Suggestions"
      • 122. Making a Mark
      • 123. God's Timing
      • 124. Jesus Wept
      • 125. Andrew
      • 126. The Cost of Service
    • 2010 Articles 127-138 >
      • 127. Don't Ask; Don't Tell
      • 128. A Forest Dark
      • 129. The Rule of Law
      • 130. The Hits and Miss of Grace
      • 131. People Need the Lord
      • 132. Examples Worthy of Notes
      • 133. A Hassle Reduction Strategy
      • 134. Gossip
      • 135. My Favorite Poem
      • 136. Let's Put the Cross in its Place
      • 137. "Don't Spare Me"
      • 138 The Unseen Message of Christmas
    • 2011 Articles 139-147 >
      • 139. What Parents Should Teach their Children
      • 140. How to Avoid Having to Serve
      • 141. What Happen to Mike?
      • 142. An Atheist Recommends God
      • 143. Surprise
      • 144. Socialism
      • 145. Union, Unity, and Uniformity
      • 146. Get in the Way
      • 147. "Let George do it."
    • 2012 Articles 148-160 >
      • 148. Truth or Consequences
      • 149. Don't Leave Home without it
      • 150. Take a Break
      • 151. The Worth of an Individual
      • 152. A Tribute to Nana
      • 153. Jesus Crossed the Line
      • 154. Thomas Jefferson
      • 155. Taxes
      • 156. You Must be Present to Win
      • 157. A Grandfather's Wish
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      • 159. Is There a Santa Claus?
      • 160. A Tribute to Sumner Wemp
    • 2013 Articles 161-172 >
      • 161. How to Finish Well
      • 162. Rewards
      • 163. Spiritual Binging
      • 164. There is no way out of this one
      • 165. Half Empty or Half Full
      • 166. Nones
      • 167. Greet One Another with a Holy Kiss
      • 168. God's Answer to Atheism
      • 169. Obedience
      • 170. The Problem of Fellowship with God
      • 171. Character Development
      • 172. For Mercy's Sake
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      • 173. Lies
      • 174. Endure to the End
      • 175. Teaching Children How Money Grows
      • 176. The Principle of Delay
      • 177. By Their Fruit
      • 178. Sermons that Changed My Life
      • 179. If Paul Harvey were the Devil
      • 180. The Principle of Practice
    • 2015 Articles 181- >
      • 181. In Wrath Remember Mercy
      • 182. Choosing the Right Shepherd
      • 183. The Lord's Requirements
      • 184. Your Ear Lobe. Thumb, and Big Toe
      • More articles will be added as they are written
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Cardinal Virtues

Anyone who thoughtfully reads the New Testament cannot help but notice that it contains several lists of virtues (Mt. 5:3-12; Gal 5:22-23; 2 Pet, 1:5-7; etc.). Over the years, as I have studied the New Testament, I have noticed that there are virtues which are repeatedly mentioned in and outside of the lists. Obviously, the three great Christian virtues are faith, hope and love (1 Cor. 13:13). Beyond those, what are the great virtues?

Long ago, I concluded that high on God’s list of desirable virtues are: being sensible (“soberly” in Titus 2:12 means “sensible”), having self control (Gal. 5:22), and endurance (“perseverance” in Rom. 5:4 means “endurance”). To that list could be added, justice, gratitude, meekness, and gentleness.

Recently, I read again something C. S. Lewis wrote. In his book Mere Christianity, Lewis has a chapter on the cardinal virtues. According to Lewis, there are seven virtues, three theological and four “cardinal.” The theological virtues are those “which, as a rule, only Christians know about.” They are faith, hope, and love.

The four cardinal virtues are those which all civilized people recognize. The word “cardinal” comes from a Latin word meaning,“the hinge of a door.” In other words, these four are “pivotal.” The cardinal virtues are prudence, temperance, justice, and fortitude.

Prudence is “practiced common sense,” taking the trouble to think out what you are doing and what is likely to come of it. Quoting Jesus statement that we are to be “wise as serpent and harmless as doves,” Lewis says that God wants us to have “a child’s heart and a grown-up head.” Our motto ought to be, “be good” and “don’t forget this involves being as clever as you can.” This “cardinal” virtue is the Biblical concept of sensible.

Temperance does not refer to alcohol; it refers to all pleasures. It is not just abstaining, but “going the right length and no further.” Lewis suggests that a man who makes golf or his motorcycle the center of his life, or the woman who devotes all her thoughts to clothes or bridge or her dog is being as intemperate as someone who gets drunk every evening. This is the Biblical concept of self-control.

Justice is “fairness.” It includes “honesty, give and take, truthfulness, keeping promises, and all that side of life.” Justice, of course, is a Biblical concept.

Fortitude includes “both kinds of courage—the kind that faces danger as well as the kind that sticks it under pain.” “Guts” is perhaps the nearest modern English equivalent. Lewis adds, “You cannot practice any of the other virtues very long without bringing this one into play.” This idea of “fortitude” includes the Biblical concept of endurance.

We need to add the “theological” virtues (faith, love, and hope), the “cardinal” virtues (prudence [sensible], temperance [self-control], justice, and fortitude [endurance]) as well as gratitude, meekness, gentleness, etc. to our lives. Wow! We have a lot of adding to do.

                               © G. Michael Cocoris, 10/31/2004
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