Unfinished Mosaic

While touring Italy, a man visited a cathedral that had been completed on the outside only. Once inside, the traveler found an artist kneeling before an enormous wall upon which he had just begun to create a mosaic. On some tables nearby were thousands of pieces of colored ceramic. Curious, the visitor asked the artist how he would ever finish such a large project. The artist answered that he knew how much he could accomplish in one day. Each morning, he marked off an area to be completed that day and didn’t worry about what remained outside that space. That was the best he could do; and if he faithfully did his best, one day the mosaic would be finished.

Today in the Word, September 5, 1995, p. 32

Money or Morality'

One of the four finalists in a philosophy debate over money vs. morality wasn’t able to attend the championship round. He was in prison. Phillip Torsrud was among 700 entrants in the Great American Think-Off, a philosophy contest in New York Mills, Minnesota.

That year’s contest posed the question: “What does society value more: money or morality?”

Torsrud wrote: “I can’t take your morals from you, but I can take your money. That is why you will guard it and value it more.”

Today in the Word, November 21, 1995, p. 28