Romans 5:3-4 ...we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Have you ever noticed how we tend to reward bad behavior these days? I don't know about you but that really bothers me, at least it has. This weekend at Church I was confronted with a realization that may be at least a small explanation. Many of the words we use to define a positive trait or behavior have corollaries that differ in some small degree of interpretation, but change the overall effect dramatically.
Take the tag line in my blog as an example. The word Confidence is a generally admirable description of a persons state of being. Without confidence it becomes almost impossible to reach any sort of achievement, or peace, or happiness. However, the evil step brother to confidence is arrogance. Arrogance is abusive, self centered and seeks to destroy others for the benefit of self. The two words I held in contrast this weekend were Perseverance and Defiance. Perseverance is the singlemindedness needed to achieve a desired result despite extreme resistance. It develops an inner strength that allows us to reach that seemingly impossible goal. And here is the AH HA! moment I realized... If you add self-centeredness to almost any positive word you can take it to the negative quite abruptly. The self-centered result of perseverance becomes defiance.
Seek every day to find those occasions where you can extract your need for attention, and dedicate yourself to the quiet, confident, persistent pursuit of truth and right and good. Be honorable and live with Grace. At the end of the day I believe you will find your reward to be more fulfilling happiness.
