A634.6.3.RB - What are Virtues?_SharpMelissa
- Frugality: make no expense but to do good to others or yourself: i.e., waste nothing
- Sincerity: Use no hurtful deceit. Think innocently and justly; and if you speak, speak accordingly
- Humility: Imitate Jesus and Socrates
Frugality
I chose frugality because it is something that I try to
practice each day. While I certainly don’t want to go without, I don’t like
having too much either. In having too much, I fear that I will waste, and I don’t
like wasting time, resources, or energy. I am sure there are areas in which I
am wasteful, so I hope to be more diligent in improving my wasteful actions.
What I love most about Benjamin’s Frugality virtue is how he emphasized the
expense of taking care of ourselves and others; doing good to ourselves and
others, should be our only expense. I love this idea because it speaks to the
generosity of our hearts. My expense
is the way of unconditionally love for myself and others; I want to do more of
this. While I will evaluate how I manage my natural resources, I also want to
examine the way I treat myself and others; I want to expensively and consistently, express care and love.
Sincerity
The virtue of Sincerity is convicting to me. For example,
without words, I can easily think the worse of people or situations, without knowing
the whole story. In thinking innocently and justly, I don’t automatically assume
the worse. There were times when someone said or texted something that evoked angry
thoughts within me. Although I didn’t respond to the message/comment in anger,
my thoughts were anger-filled—this is no different than saying the angry
words because the angry messages were in my heart. When I am in situations where
I am thinking unjustly, there are steps that I take to get back on track. For example,
when I want to think unjustly about someone, I step back; I try to look at the
whole picture; I consider the people involved, and most of all, I stop creating
stories about them in my mind. When I am unsure of a comment that came across
in an offense way, I communicate instead of thinking about others’ in a deceitful,
destructive way. I have to practice this everyday because it’s so easy to “forget”
virtues, when in the moment of an issue.
Humility
I chose Benjamin’s Humility virtue because I believe that
humility is powerful. We are taught to live boastful, proud lives and
unfortunately, humility is associated with weakness. However, I have learned
the power of humility through personal experiences; I have also seen and
experienced the folly of arrogance. I believe our character is revealed in our speech
and actions; in other words, those who are really great don’t have to tell
others they are great, their greatness naturally shines through. When I think of humility, I think of the most
humble man ever to walk the earth, Jesus Christ; he contained the power of God,
yet, lived in humility among people. I
would like to share one of my favorite biblical passages that describes Jesus’ humility.
Philippians 2: 1-8 reads:
So if there is
any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation
in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete
my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full
accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing
from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others
more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of
you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of
others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is
yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was
in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be
grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the
form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And
being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the
point of death, even death on a cross.
This passage describes the kind of life that I want to live.
To count others more significant than myself is easy when people are kind, but
such a challenge when they are not. I want the kind of humility that treats
well those whom I find annoying. I want to consider others’ interests, not just
my own. Ultimately, I want a life that is driven by humility and a teachable
attitude.
Ben's 13 Virtues . (2019). Retrieved from PBS:
http://www.pbs.org/benfranklin/pop_virtues_list.html
Philippians 2. (2019). Retrieved from Bible Gateway:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=philippians+2&version=ESV
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