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Pass It On
Most sports fans know that in the mile relay and the 440-yard relay, each runner runs one-fourth of the distance. When the first runner completes his run, he passes the baton on to the second runner, who passes it to the third, who passes it to the …Read more.
All Prejudice is Wrong
As a youngster, my mother taught me that all of us might not be smart but all of us can be courteous and fair. My mother was right.
History reveals that America was discovered and initially settled primarily by Christians (as described in "The …Read more.
Readers are Leaders
Studies validate the fact that readers are leaders and that those who enjoy reading become students with creative imaginations. Via books, you can go all over the world in your imagination. Your dream capacity increases dramatically; your …Read more.
Your Relationships and Your Health
Question: Have you ever in disgust said, "You make me sick!" to anyone? Chances are fairly good that you have. Chances are even better that there is more truth than poetry, as we say down home, in that statement.
The late psychiatrist …Read more.
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This is Love?Over the past years, a common practice labels a child born out of wedlock as a "love child." One of the most visible figures in America fathered a daughter out of wedlock. She is being identified as a "love child." Obviously, everyone hopes that she is genuinely loved. Jesse Jackson fathered five children with his wife of 37 years, Jacqueline. Question: Do those five feel that they were not "love children"? To help clarify this, let's look at the definition of love. The dictionary identifies love as "an affection of the mind, excited by beauty and worth of any kind, or by the qualities of the object which communicate pleasure, sensual or intellectual. A strong affection for or attachment to another person based on regard or shared experiences or interests." Dr. Joyce Brothers says that love is something we all yearn for, and that to love and be loved is the most blissful state imaginable. She says love is "caring as much for the aims and welfare of another person as you do about your own aims and well-being." Dr. J. Allan Petersen lists four words describing love. First is "stergo," which he describes as the love that is inherent in one's own nature. This is the kind of love a parent has for offspring. It can be, and often is, sacrificial. The second kind of love is "eros." Although eros usually carries a negative connotation, it can be either good or bad. Its basis is primarily in the physical and triggered by emotion. Eros is the heart of sexual desire and romantic feelings. Third is "phileo." This kind of love is "a fondness or a liking based on similarity of outlook in life." The fourth, and easily the most beautiful kind of love, is "agape." Petersen saw this love culled out of one's heart by an awakened sense of value in the object loved that causes one to prize it. Nearly 2,000 years ago, a Jewish scholar wrote his friends in Corinth and described real love. He said, and I quote, "Love is patient; love is kind. It does not envy; it does not boast. It is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking; it is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love never fails." These definitions make it clear that the offspring of an adulterous relationship is not a "love child." Is the child who is the result of this illicit relationship going to enjoy all the benefits the children of real love share? Evidence is clear that this child will not have the benefits that Rev. Jackson's other five children have and still enjoy. God will love her as much as He loves all the others, but this child will be burned with a stigma through no fault of her own. Though "love child," a term which I believe was created out of "political correctness," is less harsh than the prior label given to children born out of wedlock, it is a label that romanticizes a very hurtful and harmful situation for a child. A more accurate label, if the press and public insist on a label at all, would be "unfortunate child." The real love children are those born to the husband and wife who raise them together, give them their name and provide the best possible start for success in this life. To find out more about Zig Ziglar and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. Subscribe to Zig Ziglar's free e-mail newsletter through info@zigziglar.com. COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS.COM
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