"A man's character is his fate." - Heraclitus
Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, said, “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
As a priest, I have watched pitiably how people self-sabotage themselves by seeking spiritual solutions to character-deficit issues. They look around at everybody as suspects for their predicaments when their greatest demons lurk within them – their character. What we often call our destiny is truly our character, and since that character can change, then destiny can be altered. Character is destiny.
There is no amount of spiritual penance that can substitute for character. Sometimes, you need character not prayer. Dutch Sheets said: “Prayer is not a check request asking for things from God; it is a deposit slip – a way of depositing God’s character into our bankrupt souls.”
British writer and politician, Thomas Macaulay (1800-1859), said: “The measure of a man’s character is what he would do if he knows it never would be found out.” Indeed, what would ultimately destroy a man going to high places in life is not really enemies waiting for him there but the character that followed him there.
Martin Luther King, Jr., once said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at time of challenge and controversy.”
I do not mean to trivialize prayer in any way. I have observed that many people take character for granted while overzealously turning on their spiritual mode. I want to say emphatically that character is not optional; it is sacrosanct to the future that God has planned for you and your home. The greatest fraud in life is religion without character. A man without character is recklessly alive.
Often, we neglect the value of character in our relationships with people. We must learn to treat people with courtesy and respect and never look down on them. God can use anyone to change your story. Abigail Van Buren said: “The best index to a person’s character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good and how he treats people who can’t fight back.” You can judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. The way we treat those who can’t help or hurt us tells more about our character than how we treat those considered “important.” How do you treat people?
While you live, build relationships and your family and don’t ever forget that God will always use humans to build others up. Be mindful of your words and how you speak to people. Work seriously on your character and attitude towards life.
Lastly, back in the days when Germany was divided, a huge wall separated East and West Berlin. One day, some people in East Berlin took a truckload of garbage and dumped it on the West Berlin side.
The people of West Berlin could have done the same thing, but they didn’t. Instead, they took a truckload of canned food, bread, milk and other provisions, and neatly stacked it on the East Berlin side. On top of this stack they placed the sign: Nemo dat quod non habet, “Each gives what he has.” How very true! You can only give what you have.
Be sincere! What do you have inside you? Is it hate or love? Violence or peace? Death or life? Capacity to build or capacity to destroy?
We all need a pilgrimage — a journey undertaken for spiritual reasons — from time to time. It is good for the soul.
There is something about travel that reminds us that we are just passing through this place we call Earth. It is easy to forget this essential truth, and when we do, our values and lives become distorted. We are pilgrims on a journey, but sometimes we need to journey to gain perspective so we can live our one life to the fullest.
God wants to be your dwelling place. He has no interest in being a weekend getaway, Sunday bungalow or a summer cottage. Don’t consider using God as a vacation cabin or an eventual retirement home. He wants you under His roof, now and always. He wants to be your mailing address; He wants to be your home.
For many, this is a new thought. We think of God as a deity to discuss, not a place to dwell. We think of God as a mysterious miracle worker, not a house to live in. We think of God as a Creator to call on, not a home in which to reside. But our one Father wants to be much more. He wants to be the one in whom “we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)
Today, I would like to encourage you to start planning a pilgrimage. If you could go on a pilgrimage to anywhere in the world, where would you go? It may take you a few days to arrive at an answer, but when you do, start planning.
In ancient times, people would make a pilgrimage to the nearest cathedral on a Holy Day. This may have required a journey of 10, 20 or 50 miles. With modern transportation, such a journey is easily accomplished today. So, in the next 30-60 days, make a pilgrimage to a local church, chapel, shrine or cathedral. Drive there, spend a little time in that holy place and drive home. On the way home, rejoice in the life you have been given — all the people, experiences, and opportunities.
The saints made retreats and pilgrimages. These experiences tend to powerfully align us with God and give us the courage to press on. Otherwise, it is so easy to become paralyzed by fears or worry. We worry about the IRS, the SAT, and the FBI. We worry that we won’t have enough money, and when we have enough money, we worry we won’t manage it well. We worry that the world will end before the parking meter expires. We worry that some day we will learn that fat-free yogurt was fattening. Is Scripture teasing us when it reads, “He has put his angels in charge of you to watch over you wherever you go?” (Ps 91:11)
Pilgrimages create a powerful connection between God and His people. They banish our fears and fill us with the courage we need to live the life we were born to live.
May God give us the heart of a pilgrim and help us to be mindful of the fact that we are just passing through this place we call Earth.