Recently, I was visiting one of our elderly members who has been at Chapel Hill since we were meeting at Wichita Collegiate. We were reminiscing about our beginnings and he said, “I have something for you.” He left the room and brought back a piece of paper from one of our early newsletters, which was a monthly publication at that time. He proceeded to say as he was handing me the sheet of paper, “You have no idea how often I have read this over the last 25 years.” He handed me an article I had written for the newsletter titled, “10 Commandments for Inner Peace.”  I thought I would share the article with you this week.

“My friend and brother in Christ, Scott Hetrick, gave me the ‘Ten Commandments for Inner Peace.’ It has certainly blessed me when I have found myself ‘coming and going’ at a frantic pace with a lack of being centered in Christ.

As we begin this new year, (Even though it is not January 1, we did celebrate Yom Kippur which is the Jewish New Year) I hope and pray you will use this as a tool to get refocused and re-centered in and around the One who loves you with an everlasting love.

  1. Thou shall not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all human activities.
  2. Thou shall not be fearful, for most things we fear never come to pass.
  3. Thou shall not cross bridges before you come to them. For no one yet has succeeded in accomplishing this.
  4. Thou shall face each problem as it comes – you can only handle one at a time anyway.
  5. Thou shall not take problems to bed with you, for they make very poor bed-fellows.
  6. Thou shall not borrow other people’s problems. They can better care for them than you can.
  7. Thou shall not try to relive yesterday for good or ill; it is gone forever. Concentrate on what is happening in your life, and be happy now!
  8. Thou shall be a good listener, for only when you listen do you hear different ideas than your own. It is hard to learn something new when you are talking; some people do not know more than you do.
  9. Thou shall not become ‘bogged down’ by frustration, for 90% of it is rooted in self-pity and will only interfere with positive action.
  10. Thou shall count thy blessings, never overlooking the small ones, for many small blessings add up to a big one.

Be encouraged by the words of Jesus, ‘My peace, I give to you, it is not as the world gives. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27

And, the man who handed me the copy had written in at the botton….’And, never go to bed angry.’”

Have a blessed week and don’t allow anyone or anything to steal your inner peace.