One of the best pieces of advice I received as a young man was from a minister who said to me, “Every young man should read a chapter of Proverbs in the Bible every day.” I did this for many years and learned many truths as a result. I still appreciate proverbs both in and outside of the Bible. A proverb is a proverbial saying, or as Webster defines it, “A short popular saying that expresses an obvious truth.” We call them one-liners today.

One of my hobbies is to collect proverbial one-liners. The following are some which convey valuable nuggets of truth.

Winston Churchill: “The farther backwards you can look the farther forward you are likely to see.”

Arnold Toynbee: “An autopsy of history is that all great nations commit suicide.”

Henry David Thoreau: “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”

Larry McMurty: “It is impossible to impress a people with truths that they aren’t ready to hear, much less accept.”

Isaac Newton: “What we know is a drop. What we don’t know is an ocean.”

Richard Lamm: “Our moral compass gyrates wildly.”

Rabbi Mervin Romsky: “He is a failure as a human being, no matter what his other achievements, whose heart does not hurt for his fellow man. And he is a successful human being, no matter where else he may be lacking, who is rich in compassion.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me a heart for wisdom, a love for truth, a desire for learning Your Word, and a passion for living and walking in truth. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully in Jesus’s name. Amen.”

1. Proverbs 1:5 (NKJV).