Wisdom-Trek Day 53 – The 10 Tenets of Mother Teresa

Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 53 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

The 10 Tenets of Mother Teresa

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. The nuggets of wisdom that we consume each day provide us with the nourishment for our minds that allows us to think differently, to change our lives, and to impact the lives of everyone that we have contact with.  Together these three elements allow us to remain on the trail of Creating a Living Legacy.  This is Day 53 of our Trek, and today we are going to review the 10 tenets of Mother Teresa, along with other wisdom nuggets that she left as part of her legacy.

The 10 Tenets of Mother Teresa

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. This week finds us preparing for a sizable yard sale on Saturday. While I am not a garage or yard sale person, we do have the need to declutter our house and garage of some of the things that we have collected over the years. At least we will make a small dent in it.  We are also preparing to sand the wood floor in our eating area, and hopefully I will be able to seal it with polyurethane this weekend.

On our Trek two days ago, we were unexpectedly caught in a violent storm that washed out the trail before us. We learned that we have to deal with the issues of life as they are, not as we expect or desire them to be. Yesterday we were able to construct a crude bridge over the chasm because we had planned properly and brought the tools needed. We learned that there are no guarantees in life, but we do have to plan the best that we can so that when the storms of life do hit, we can weather them with minimal long-term impact.

Let’s continue on today helping each other along a trail that is now much rougher than it would be otherwise due to the storms. As we lend a hand to each other, mile after rugged mile, I am reminded of another person that helped so many with her sacrificial life – Mother Teresa.

Rough Hiking Trail

As I have studied a little bit about her life, I have found that most of the reports of her work indicate that she led a life of self-sacrifice and pouring into others. As with any of us, she was not without detractors, but she did not allow those things to dissuade her.

As my virtual mentor Zig Ziglar puts it, “Don't be distracted by criticism. Remember ~ the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you.”

"The only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you, Zig Ziglar."

Personally I am a protestant and was not raised as a Catholic, therefore I may not agree with some of the Catholic teachings, but I have come to understand that our service to God is one of the heart and not one of following certain denominational practices. Mother Teresa certainly was known best for her sacrificial love and helping others in the slums of India.

Sacrificial Love

Mother Teresa was described on Biography.com in the following manner, "For her unwavering commitment to aiding those most in need, Mother Teresa stands out as one of the greatest humanitarians of the 20th century. She combined profound empathy and a fervent commitment to her cause with incredible organizational and managerial skills that allowed her to develop a vast and effective international organization of missionaries to help impoverished citizens all across the globe. 

However, despite the enormous scale of her charitable activities and the millions of lives she touched, to her dying day she held only the most humble conception of her own achievements. Summing up her life in characteristically self-effacing fashion."

She was also known for her down-to-earth, practical wisdom, and sage advice. Today we will look at her 10 tenets and a few of her other profound quotes. As I read through these, take time to ponder them, to consume them, and to allow their truths to permeate your life and make a change in how you interact and treat others.

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.  Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.  Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.  Succeed anyway.
4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.  Do good anyway.
5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.  Be honest and frank anyway.
6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.  Think big anyway.
7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.  Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.  Build anyway.
9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.  Help people anyway.
10. Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.  Give the world the best you have anyway.

These 10 tenets are some great points to consider and put into practice in our lives.   Here are a few more thoughts that are worth considering:

• "We must never get into the habit of being preoccupied with the future.  There is no reason to do so.  God is there."

• "To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it."

• "If you spend your time judging others, you don't have time to love them."

• "Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies."

As we compare the life of Mother Teresa with Scripture we see that her life reflected the teachings of Christ. I feel the passage that best describes this is 1 John Chapter 2:7-11, which is titled "A New Commandment."

"Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.

 If anyone claims, 'I am living in the light,' but hates a fellow believer that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves a fellow believer is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates a fellow believer is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness."

Now, for two final thoughts from Mother Teresa. Observe how closely they align with the Scripture above.

• "It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start."
• "Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better or happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile; kindness in your warm greeting."

 

Well, that will finish our podcast for today. If you missed any of our previous podcasts, please check out Wisdom-Trek on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud or Wisdom-Trek.com. The question for tomorrow is  "How heavy is your glass? The Consequences of Stress."

So, please join us at our "camp" tomorrow for another day on our Wisdom-Trek Creating a Legacy.

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The journal from this podcast can be found at Wisdom-Trek.com, where we also have pictures, tweetable quotes, wisdom nuggets, and free resources.

 As we take this Trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy the Journey, and Create a Great Day! See you tomorrow!