In our excellent Sunday school class this morning we discussed "The Paradoxical Commandments." Many people think these commandments were written by Mother Teresa because she had them on her wall but they were actually written in 1968 by Kent Keith when he was 19 years old and a student at Harvard.
Over the years he's done great work in leadership and "The Paradoxical Commandments" have become kind of a cottage industry for him.
These commandments coincide very well with the teachings of Jesus who was (and is) both paradoxical and revolutionary.
So here are the commandments to help you begin 2011.
THE PARADOXICAL COMMANDMENTS
People are illogical, unreasonable, and self- centered. Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
People may really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help them anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.
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