Real Strength

"And a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. The heart also of the rash shall understand, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly."- Isaiah 32:2-4.

Where are the men of integrity? I know they are here. Where are they? It is difficult to be strong and virtuous when men are ridiculed and belittled. Not much is expected of us. Many times when virtue is exercised, we are scolded for sticking out our neck. In these days, morality, goodness, and virtue are not popular. Putting your family first shows weakness to a world that demands you put yourself first. Serving the weak without expecting accolades and praise seems foolish to those who live to get a leg up. Everything leads back to "What do I get out it?" We don't understand the above passage in current times. We can't comprehend real strength. A man should come to the rescue of all in need without expecting anything out of it. We should be able to be counted on in times of trouble. Being counted on means that we have a track record. We are trusted, because we have shown over and over that we are trustworthy. Yet, so many of us never keep our word to our friends, our spouse, our children, or our neighbors and can't understand why they give up on us over time. How many times can we burn those around us and expect to keep our good standing. Truth is, we won't.

When Gotham City shines the Bat Signal, Batman shows. If he didn't, they would quickly look for another who could address their crime problem. That's the thing, people are looking for heroes in times of trouble. It's scary to go through dark times alone. Sure, being a superhero seems unrealistic. Nonetheless, it is our duty, as men of principle, to be dependable. That means that we are there like clockwork- everytime. It means that we do what we say we are going to do, not do what we say we won't, be where we say we will, and always do our best job to help our neighbor. We will not begin to really see, hear, understand, or speak this love until we become steadfast and dependable. When we force ourselves to start doing what is good and right, we will begin to see the value we provide to others, and finally our eyes, ears, mind, and tongue will be freed to finally know the importance of this kind of life.

We can never hope to do something great with our lives, if we don't push ourselves to greatness. Again, greatness is not for personal gain, but to serve as an example to our children and to those around us of what real freedom is, making a positive difference in the world based on the good we did while we were here. A legacy is our testament to the world to what is possible when we are men of strength and principle, reliable in all we do. When we die, no one will care about the money we made, the position we attained in our carreer, or how much stuff we had. If that is how we live life, we are missing the mark, and are destined to feel empty.

There is more need than what we know what to do with. Because we have retreated, rather than ran to assist in the world's problems, government has stepped in to fill the void. They have done it poorly and ineffectually. Where are those men of integrity again? Start with those around you. Be there when they need you. Build your reputation again on being rock solid. As you do, you will be given more to do. God's gift to us is our abilities to help and heal the people around us; to build the world back toward the perfection of the garden. That can not be done if we are living for ourselves. Determine that you will change the direction we are headed in, even if you are the only one.