Prosperity is often the enemy of spiritual development.

Compassion for victims is sometimes forgotten in a misapplied concern for their oppressors and murderers.

Discouragement is contagious and is easily transmitted to others.

Wisdom lies in recognizing the dangers that lie within us and doing battle with them daily.

The heart that delights in God and longs only to see His glory advance will seldom be conscious of sacrifice. God in His wisdom asks that we first love Him and then live in keeping with that core value. He does not want His people to think of what they do as sacrificial, even though from the world's point of view it may be just that. Gratitude for grace of God will always be found near the center of the Biblical Christian's most powerful motivations.

The thoughtful believer recalls God's faithfulness in the past when confronted by any new threat. Part of spiritual maturity is strong sense of one's own history.

Believers should be more concerned for God's opinion of them than for what human opponents might do to their bodies.