Six Mistakes of Mankind
The following is based on a quote from Marcus Tullius Cicero.
Each statement from this quote is compared to the biblical equivalents.
“Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century.”
- “The illusion that personal gain is made up of crushing others.“
“Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty.”
Proverbs 22:16, ESV
“Do not rob the poor, because he is poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate, for the Lord will plead their cause and rob of life those who rob them.”
Proverbs 22:22-23, ESV
“Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch, so is he who gets riches but not by justice; in the midst of his days they will leave him, and at his end he will be a fool.”
Jeremiah 17:11, ESV
- “The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed or corrected.“
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?”
Matthew 6:25, NIV
“ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7, NIV
- “Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it.“
“But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”
Matthew 19:26, ESV
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9, ESV
- “Refusing to set aside trivial preferences.“
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.“
Philippians 2:3-8, ESV
- “Neglecting development and refinement of the mind, and not acquiring the habit of reading and study.“
“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.”
1 Corinthians 13:11, ESV
“Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.”
Hebrews 6:1-2, ESV
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
Colossians 3:16, ESV
- “Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.“
“As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.”
Romans 14:1-3, ESV
“For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”
Acts 15:28-29, ESV
“Don’t explain your philosophy, embody it.” (Epictetus, 50 AD – 135 AD)
“Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”
1 John 3:18, ESV
“They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.”
Titus 12:16, ESV
“And one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?”
James 2:16, ESV