The Life the God Blesses

"When most boats would have righted themselves after such a battering, the Persona did not.  Why?  Because its builder--this very foolish man--had ignored the importance of what was below the waterline.  There was no weight there.  In a moment when a well-designed keel and adequate ballast might have saved the ship, they were nowhere to be found.  The foolish man had concerned himself with the appearance of things and not enough with resilience and stability in the secret, unseen places where storms are withstood."

"Experienced sailors might wince at this, but one must remember that the boat-builder was acting with the perceptions of the crowd in his mind---not the seaworthiness of the vessel.  Seaworthiness seems not an important issue while in a dry dock."
Except from The Life that God Blesses, Gordon MacDonald

"The main idea in the region of religion is – Your eyes upon God, not on men. Do not have as your motive the desire to be known as a praying man. Get an inner chamber in which to pray where no one knows you are praying, shut the door and talk to God in secret. Have no other motive than to know your Father in heaven. It is impossible to conduct your life as a disciple without definite times of secret prayer." ~Oswald Chambers

"...discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily 

discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all 

things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for 

the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full 

acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have 

fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, 

especially of believers." 1 Timothy 4:7-10