Lou Priolo > Quotes

“Fear is sinful when it is rooted in selfishness rather than love.”
― Lou Priolo

“To spend your time thinking about what you can do to keep from disappointing him, or what might happen if you were to displease her, or how it might look if you did this, or how you might be rejected if you didn’t do that, rather than simply thinking about how you can please God, is not only worry, but stupidity.”
― Lou Priolo, Pleasing People: How not to be an approval junkie

“Unlike the people-pleaser, who worries himself sick when he senses that he may have displeased someone by his words (or actions), the person who pleases God knows how to dismiss such anxiety with the assurance that he has, in fact, said (or done) that which pleases God. . . . if he knows that he hasn’t sinned, he does not worry or fret about the consequences of his actions. He trusts God to use what he has said or done for His glory, and he knows that God is causing all things to work together for his own good.”
― Lou Priolo, Pleasing People: How not to be an approval junkie

“People who are sinful tend to be lazy because they focus not on their responsibilities but on their fears. That which they fear distracts and even incapacitates them from faithful obedience.”
― Lou Priolo

“Fear is sinful when it attributes to God characteristics that are inconsistent with His nature.”
― Lou Priolo

“Although the Bible records several emotions that Christ experiences, nowhere in the Bible will you find it said that Jesus was ever afraid! Why? Because the love that He possessed for the Father was absolutely and positively without question 100 percent perfect love.”
― Lou Priolo

“When you are afraid because you do not believe that God *can* or *will* do what He has clearly promised in His Word, your fear is sinful.”
― Lou Priolo

“The key to communicating biblically when you are angry is twofold. First, as you’ve already realized, you must direct your anger toward the problem. It’s as if the Lord has given you a special dart, and rather than “blowing up” and throwing that dart at the person who made you angry, or “clamming up” and swallowing the dart yourself, you must remember to throw it at the real problem. Second, you must release your anger under the control of the Holy Spirit. You must depend upon the Spirit of God to help you obey those Scriptures that need to govern your speech. To put it in biblical language, you are to speak, “as it were, the utterances of God” (1 Peter 4:11).”
― Lou Priolo, The Complete Husband: A Practical Guide for Improved Biblical Husbanding

“Even though [the God-pleaser] knows that the plans he is making wouldn't be condemned by most God-fearing men, and might even be praised, he doesn't proceed with them until he has examined his heart to make sure that he is doing the right thing for the right reason in the sight of God. He is performing on God's stage for an audience of One. Though many others may be watching, he considers the applause of God to be better and sweeter, more thunderous and more glorious than the applause of all the kings and rulers, celebrities, and dignitaries he will ever hope to meet. He knows that mere humans can evaluate him only subjectively and superficially by what they see with their eyes, but that God will evaluate him righteously by what he sees in his heart.”
― Lou Priolo, Pleasing People: How not to be an approval junkie

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Prov. 15:1;”
― Lou Priolo, The Complete Husband: A Practical Guide for Improved Biblical Husbanding

“The use of behavior modification and cognitive therapy techniques that were designed to replace Christ and the Scriptures with human wisdom (Prov. 16:25) cannot produce in an angry child the fruit of the Spirit. That”
― Lou Priolo, The Heart of Anger: Helping Angry Children

“Fear is sinful when it proceeds out of unbelief or distrust in God.”
― Lou Priolo

“Pride is a deep rooted and a self-preserving sin; and therefore is harder to be killed and rooted up than other sins. It hinders the discovery of itself. . . . It will not allow the sinner to see his pride when he is reproved; neither will it allow him to confess it if he sees it; nor . . . to loathe himself and forsake it. . . . Even when he recognizes all of the evidences of pride in others, he will not see it in himself. When he feels himself despising reproof, and knows that this is a sign of pride in others, yet he will not know it in himself. If you would go about to cure him of this or any other fault, you shall feel that you are handling a wasp or an adder; yet when he is spitting the venom of pride against the reprover, he does not perceive that he is proud; this venom is a part of his nature and therefore is not felt as harmful or poisonous.7”
― Lou Priolo, The Complete Husband: A Practical Guide for Improved Biblical Husbanding

“the people-pleaser struggles to do it with the right motive. Pleasing and glorifying God by serving others takes a backseat to serving others to promote and glorify self.”
― Lou Priolo, Pleasing People: How not to be an "approval junkie"

“To the extent that your love [of God] is fearful, your love is incomplete or immature. It is not made perfect. 1 John 4:17-18”
― Lou Priolo

“When you believe that your fear has more power than God, your fear is sinful.”
― Lou Priolo

“Fear is the flip-side of lust. Idolatry is like a coin, it has two sides: desire and fear.”
― Lou Priolo

“Few people have bolded this point as John Calvin in his commentary on the book of Acts: Publicly”
― Lou Priolo, Presuppositions of Biblical Counseling: What Historical Biblical Counselors Really Believe