King Solomon exhorts us in the Proverbs to be mindful of our heart, i.e. our general inward attitude: "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23). We know that our heart is not the source of eternal life, so "life" in this verse pertains to living, our general quality of life. The Proverbs tell us what a positive effect a merry heart can have on our general outlook in life. (more…)

Because of its past as the capital of the British Empire it comes as no surprise that more languages are spoken today in London than in any other city of the world – more than 250 of them! When reading a statistic like this, who realizes that this variety of languages is not a human invention but rather the result of God's intervention? (more…)

Among the Greeks, women held a near slave status. Wives were not allowed to eat with their husbands' guests nor to leave their house unescorted. Infanticide for baby girls was seen as justified. Women were looked upon as inferior and impure compared to men. (more…)

Diligence is a topic we find several times in the Bible, especially in the book of Proverbs. There diligence is often contrasted with the results of laziness in a picturesque way, as in Proverbs 10, verse 26: "As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the lazy man to those who send him." (more…)