Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the greatest influential men in our nation. He not only believed in a better world, he did all he could to share that vision of love with everyone. He did not settle for hate. He aspired for love, and he knew that was the best choice for all mankind. This was mostly due to his strong understanding of and belief in God.
Today, as we celebrate him and what he did, I thought I would share a few quotes that are most inspiring to me. Granted, he said a great number of challenging statements through the years, but here are five that stood out most to me.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'”
“Forgiveness is not an occasional act. It is a permanent attitude.”
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”
Let us not forget what this great man did for us. He shared a desire for a better world — a world focused not on hate for those around us, but instead for love. Sure, we may not understand everyone, we may come from different backgrounds, and we may have disagreements, but God is love, and He has called us to love one another. Martin Luther King Jr. believed in that. He died for that. Yes, people today could argue that we are more accepting than we were in his life, but I strongly believe we still have a long way to go. So, may his dreams still affect us today as we move forward.
Steve Cullum 