Life Quotes & Memes Archives - Good Shepherd News - Fastest Growing Religious, Free Speech & Political Content

The Kipling Poem – The Perfect Blueprint for Becoming a Successful Man

The Truth News — Sun, 14 Dec 2025 16:58:11 +0000

The Kipling Poem – The Perfect Blueprint for Becoming a Successful Man

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

success is the target unrelenting success!

Analysis

“If—” by Rudyard Kipling is a famous poem offering paternal advice on how to live a virtuous and resilient life, emphasizing stoicism, self-control, and humility. It outlines a series of “if” conditions, suggesting that if one can remain calm under pressure, handle success and failure equally, persevere through setbacks, and maintain integrity while interacting with all social classes, they will become a “Man” in the fullest sense.

Key themes and advice

Composure: Keep your head when others lose theirs; trust yourself when doubted.
Resilience:Treat triumph and disaster as impostors; if you lose everything, start again without complaint.
Integrity:Don’t lie when lied about; don’t give way to hate; don’t appear too good or talk too wise.
Humility: Walk with kings but keep the common touch; don’t let foes or loving friends hurt you.
Perseverance: Force your body and heart to keep going when exhausted; fill the “unforgiving minute” with meaningful action.

Context

Written around 1895 and published in 1910 in Rewards and Fairies.
Structured as advice from a father to his son.
Often seen as a guide to Victorian-era stoicism and self-mastery.

The Silversmith and the Fire – Its Meaning in Relations to God’s Chosen 33

The Truth News — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 08:57:47 +0000

The Silversmith and the Fire – Its Meaning in Relations to God’s Chosen 33

The connection between a silversmith and fire in the Bible is God’s process of refining his people through trials and adversity, purifying their faith just as a smith purifies silver in a furnace. This imagery is prominently featured in the book of Malachi.

The book of Malachi uses the analogy of a silversmith to describe God’s coming judgment. Malachi 3:2-3 states that God “will be like a refiner’s fire” and will “purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver”. The refining process involves placing silver in intense heat to remove impurities, with the smith carefully watching and removing the silver when it is pure. This process illustrates that God oversees his people during trials, knowing when the refining is complete and not allowing them to suffer beyond what they can bear. A silversmith knows the silver is pure when his reflection is visible in it. Spiritually, this means God’s refining is complete when his image is reflected in his people.

“The Silversmith and the Fire Bible” refers to the biblical imagery of God as a silversmith who refines people, like silver, through trials and difficulties, symbolized by fire, until His image is reflected in them.

Key biblical verses supporting this concept include

Malachi 3:3 (“He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver”)

and

Zechariah 13:9 (“Will bring the one-third through the fire, Will refine them as silver is refined”).

The process involves God holding believers in intense circumstances (the fire) to burn away impurities (dross) and transform them into something valuable and useful for His purposes.

The Silversmith Analogy

God’s Presence: Just as a silversmith must constantly watch the silver in the hottest part of the fire to prevent its destruction, God remains present with individuals through their struggles.
The Fire: The fire represents difficult circumstances, tests, and trials that people face in life.
The Silver: Believers are the silver being purified.
Purity: The goal of the process is to remove impurities or dross from the silver, which represents sin and negative traits in a person’s life.
The Vessel: Once fully refined, the silver is shaped into a vessel, symbolizing a transformed individual made useful and valuable for God’s service.

The Outcome

God’s Image: The ultimate sign of complete refinement is when the silversmith can see his own image reflected in the purified silver. In a spiritual sense, this means a person becomes more like Christ and reflects God’s image to others.
Transformation: The refining process leads to spiritual growth, making individuals stronger, sweeter, and more sensitive to God’s will.

Key Bible Verses

Malachi 3:3: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have pure offerings in righteousness”.
Zechariah 13:9: “I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested”.
Proverbs 25:4-8: (Verse 4) “Remove the dross from the silver, and a silversmith can produce a vessel”.

other verses related

Proverbs 17:3 states that “A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts”.
1 Peter 1:7 explains that trials prove the genuineness of faith, which is more valuable than gold refined by fire, resulting in “praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed”.

Love your Parents while you have them!

The Truth News — Mon, 06 May 2024 23:52:33 +0000

Love your Parents while you have them!

A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the tree top, ate the apples, and took a nap under the shadow.

He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him. Time went by, the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree every day.

One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad.

“Come and play with me”, the tree asked the boy.

“I am no longer a kid, I do not play around trees any more” the boy replied.

“I want toys. I need money to buy them.”

“Sorry, but I do not have money, but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money.”

The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.

One day, the boy who now turned into a man returned and the tree was excited.

“Come and play with me” the tree said.

“I do not have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?”

“Sorry, but I do not have any house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house.” So the man cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the man never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.

One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted.

“Come and play with me!” the tree said.

“I am getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?” said the man.

“Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy.”

So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.

Finally, the man returned after many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I do not have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you”, the tree said. “No problem, I do not have any teeth to bite” the
man replied.

“No more trunk for you to climb on.” “I am too old for that now” the man said. “I really cannot give you anything, the only thing left is my dying roots,” the tree said with tears.

“I do not need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years,” the man replied.

“Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest, come sit down with me and rest.” The man sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tєαяs.

This is a story of everyone. The tree is like our parents. When we were young, we loved to play with our Mum and Dad. When we grow up, we leave them; only come to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they could just to make you happy.

You may think the boy is cruel to the tree, but that is how all of us treat our parents. We take them for granted; we don’t appreciate all they do for us, until it’s too late.

LESSON OF THE STORY:

Treat your parents with loving care. For you will know their value, when you see their empty chair. We never know the love of our parents for us; till we have become parents .