Billy Graham's Principles for Living

I will be quoting some of these posts courtesy of the author Alanna Nash from Reader's Digest :).

I always admire Graham's wisdom in preaching the Good News! And I believe, this wisdom that he had is a blessing from God. No wonder why he had gathered thousands of long lost souls to come back to God.

These principles I believe are golden insights into achieving greater happiness:

1. Make it your goal to live at peace with others. - Unfortunately, it's not possible to do this with everyone in our lives; Even our best efforts may not change another person's attitude. The key is to ask God if we're at fault, and if so, confess it and seek His help to overcome it. Life is short, so we shouldn't waste our days but live them for God's glory. Let us be at peace with God and with ourselves as well. Let's strive to set aside time each day to be alone with God like prayer, Bible reading and meditation.
2. Treat others as you'd want them to treat you. - This is a simple but profound principle - the golden rule that comes from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. The Bible tells us "With humility comes wisdom." We are sinners and have been forgiven only because of God's grace. God gave us our gifts and abilities. But if we start thinking only ourselves more than we ought to, it takes away from our proper worship of God. Pride blinds us to our own faults. That's why we should pray not only for our friends but also for our enemies. Prayer is one way we put the golden rule into action.
3. Guard your tongue. Use it for good instead of evil. - Many marriages and relationships have been destroyed because of criticism that spun out of control. The Bible is like a bottomless goldmine - the deeper we dig, the more riches we discover. It tells us, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs."
4. Never repay evil with evil. - Evil is sin; - a deadly cancer that has invaded our souls. It isn't just an illusion or an absence of good. All evil deeds come from Satan and Satan is real, who is always absolutely opposed to God. Still, we're responsible for our own actions. Only God can replace the evil and sin in our hearts with love and kindness. Put your faith in God and follow Him.
5. Avoid revenge. Don't be a captive of the past. "If someone has harmed us by breaking the law, we have the right to bring that person to justice, both for our good and the good of society. But hurting someone only because they have hurt us is another matter. We can't change the past; we can only seek God's forgiveness for whatever it is we did wrong.