It’s tax season, which reminds me of a story. An angry man stormed into the postmaster's office, waving several pieces of mail. “For weeks I've been pestered with threatening letters,” he shouted, “and I want something done about it.” The postmaster calmly replied. “It's against the law to send threats through the mail. Who's sending these letters?” The man snapped, “It's the IRS.”
Moral of the story: don't mess with the IRS.
The word of God takes us back to the second century before Jesus. The wisdom of Sirach is one of Israel's many spiritual guides, a collection of advice about how to live well so that we can realize our authentic true selves. In life, the biblical writer notes, we have to choose between good and evil, right and wrong, truth and falsehood. Here the author emphasizes that our words, for better or worse, reveal who and what we are. The author then employs three images to make his point: a sieve from agriculture, a hot fire from the arts and crafts, and a fruit tree from horticulture. I may be thinking in light of Sirach's advice: maybe it's best to keep my mouth shut. Yes, the point of Sirach is this: our speech reveals who we really are.
The author may be asking: do our words build people up or tear them down? Are we constructive or destructive? Do we affirm or criticize? Think about it.
St. Paul in his letter to the Christian community in Corinth waxes eloquently about our future. One day our perishable mortal bodies will be clothed with immortality. In the liturgy for the dead, we hear, “for those who believe, life is changed, not ended.” Yes, our faith proclaims that good ultimately will triumph over evil, light over darkness, life over death.
Why? Because Jesus Christ is risen. He lives and because He lives, we live. One day, just as God transformed the earthly Jesus into a new kind of spiritual embodiment, so too God will also transform us. We shall be like God, and see God as God really is.
In light of this future, Paul urges us to focus upon God and the things of God; live a godlike life.
In the Gospel according to Luke, Jesus says: don't be too quick to point out the shortcomings in others while blind to your own shortcomings. Don't be hypocrites, saying one thing and doing another. Let your inner attitudes be in sync with your outward behaviors. Yes, be men and women of integrity, men and women of moral character, true to that inner voice we call conscience.
One of my favorite quotes about moral character is from Norman Schwarzkopf, who led the allied coalition that drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait in the Persian Gulf War of 1990. Schwarzkopf said this:
“Leadership is a whole combination of different ingredients – but by far, by far, the single most important ingredient of leadership is your character. Your character, that’s what is important. Now I have had the cynics scoff at that. They said, ‘...It’s not really, really important.’ … I tell the cynics to go out and look at the leadership failures that have occurred in this country in the last 100 years. You will find that 99 percent … were not failures in competence; they were failures in character. Greed, lying, prejudice, racism, intolerance, sexism, hate, immorality, amorality – none of these things are competence failures. They are all character failures. You see, leadership involves things like ethics; ... a sense of duty; leadership involves a value system. ... morality; and, indeed, leadership involves integrity. And that is why character is what counts in leadership. Integrity: that is the linchpin in all of this.”
So said Schwarzkopf. He was spot on.
So what is character?
First, there’s a difference between personality and character. Our personality on the surface puts us in a category – e. g. cheerful, or moody, or excitable, etc. Character, by contrast, is singular and defines who we are, at the core of our inmost self. It's what we do when no one else is looking.
Personality is emotional. Character is ethical. Personality is neither good nor bad. Character, by definition, is either good or bad. By character, one stands out from the crowd. That takes courage.
A person of moral character will choose fair mindedness over bigotry, the dignity of the person over impersonal business or material advantage, a respect for human beings over the lust for pleasure, or power, or personal success, a willingness to go the extra mile to make something “just right” because it’s the better thing to do.
A person of character will have the courage to speak up for what is right and defend what is fair, and will not falter or remain silent out of cowardice and let the crowd take over, but will take a stand on principle and conscience --yes, an informed conscience, even if it is to one’s worldly disadvantage, even if others turn against them. A person of character will show courage, and not simply “get along by going along.”
A person of character, in short, will try to choose what is true and good and right in all decisions, small and great, that affect family, work, career, and social life, raising children, relationships with others, even leisure time. They will stand for something.
All of us are called to seek not what's “fashionable,” not what is expected by others, but simply to seek what is right and true and good. And having found what is right and true and good: as the advertisement says, have the courage to -- just do it.”
I conclude with a few guideposts as each of us makes our earthly pilgrimage toward our heavenly home.
The greatest joy … … … … … … … … … Giving
The most satisfying work … … … … … … Helping Others
The greatest “shot in the arm” … … … … … Encouragement
The greatest asset … … … … … … … … . Faith in God
The most prized possession … … … … … .. Integrity
The most powerful channel of communication Prayer.
Amen.
