The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
“The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
- Matthew 25:20-23
The New Boilerplate
My wife filled a small book with “Angel” on the cover. It was hidden with a box of crafting things. On 18 July 2025, I thought I had posted the last of these. But this little angel book held a prayer, followed by 71 quotes. So, the “with a little help” series is back in business for a while. And it will be fun for me. She did not attribute any of the quotes. The first quote was from James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the USA. The next one was disputed, with some thinking it originated with Teddy Roosevelt and others saying Fred Astaire. After the prayer, these might be on the lighter side.
Her quote
“Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.”
- Stanislaw Jerzy Lec, Polish Poet and Aphorist
The Discussion
Baron Stanisław Jerzy de Tusch-Letz (1909-1966) was a Polish poet and aphorist. He was given the title of “Baron” due to his wise sayings. I have been going through John Calvin’s 100 aphorisms, written by someone else to summarize what Calvin had written in his greatest work. My version of Institutes of the Christian Religion is 1258 pages, not counting the aphorisms. Stanislaw Jerzy Lec was similar to philosophers like Confucius. He wrote about a wide range of topics.
Here are four of his aphorisms.
- Those who tried to enlighten were often hanged on lampposts.
- Beyond each corner new directions lie in wait.
- It’s a shame to suspect, when you are quite certain.
- The exit is usually where the entrance was.
Odd how the quote that my wife selected about aging is not in the list of aphorisms that I found.
But sometimes as we live our lives, we do not think the result is a work of art, but maybe we are not the ones to judge that.
I have mentioned it before, when all is said and done, I will be thinking about what I could have done better, but all I want God to say is, “Well done, Good and faithful servant.”
That is the stamp of approval that makes our age a work of art.
All else falls short.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory
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