Better a poor man/woman whose walk is blameless than a rich man/woman whose ways are unreasonable, difficult, stubborn, problematic
I think Bruce Lockerbie captures some of the essence about Character in the example he uses below.
It is no test of character to stop our car at a police roadblock. The test comes, rather, when we’re driving at 4 am along a desolate back road in (name that town or city).
We’re heading toward a red light at a deserted intersection and we can see for miles around that there’s nobody else on the roads. Do we obey the law, even though there’s no cross traffic, or zoom on through at full speed?
This is a test of character, a choice made on the basis of respect for law, on the discipline of adhering to the principles of safe driving. We decide to stop on the strength of character instead of responding to convenience or whim.
Of course, for the person who is well disciplined in respect for law, as well as other ethical or moral principles, such a simple illustration of choice is automatically invalid.
For such a person, the only course of action is already established because we stop at red lights; that’s all there is to it, whatever the time or traffic conditions.
We do what is right, not what we know to be wrong.
On the road to great character...
Dave
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