Here’s an example of one of my favorite verses:
Philippians 4:8 – Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.
You can see from this example that the verse contains no reference to any particular religion. There’s nothing here to alienate or offend any reader.
and now, here’s my commentary:
My experience in life has shown me that you can actually change the way you look at life by changing the way you look at the things in it. So, for example, taking the “whatever is lovely” – if you make a conscious effort to see the lovely things that surround you in life – you will quite naturally become more aware of the beauty of the world. This will literally make you into a different person over time. One that is more complete, happier, and easier to be around…
Here’s how the book will look. Each verse will have multiple commentaries, with the commentors name and title. Again, you can see from this example that the verse contains no reference to Jesus, or to any particular religion. There’s nothing here to alienate or offend any reader. But there is plenty here to inform a good life.
Matthew 6:34 – Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
It’s so simple when you think about it. The act of worrying brings zero benefit to any life. Just the opposite. Really, what can you add to your life by worrying? One of my mother’s favorite consolations to me was “don’t waste your time worrying about things that haven’t even happened yet. If they do happen, you’ll have plenty of time to worry then. And if they don’t happen, you will have wasted all that time and energy worrying about something that didn’t even come to pass”!
Richard Rubino, christian lay person
It has been said that who can even add a single hour to their lifetime by worrying? Of course you can’t. But you can certainly waste an hour of your lifetime thinking about future events. There’s no profit in worrying at all. It’s all a negative. Spend that same amount of time on something beneficial for your life, like learning how to treat others with grace, and you will be repaid tenfold for your efforts.
William Dunbar, Christian Pastor