Foundations are not readily visible. Take a walk down the main street of your town or city, and look for the foundation of each building. Can you see it? I don’t mean the upper basement walls. I mean the foundation.
As long as foundations are strong, we don’t worry about how they look. They can be rough, coarse concrete for all we care. We never have to look at them. They never come in designer shades and hues from which our architect chooses our favorite, but are stained and unpainted. We do not expect foundations to be of highly valuable materials. As long as they are firm and hold the building securely, we are satisfied.
Character’s foundations, though, are neither dirty nor of rough, unfinished texture. They are of precious stones, polished and cut to reflect bright light from every facet. They are laid of diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, topazes, and aquamarines. They are beautiful, standing out for all to see and admire.
Courage of convictions is among the strongest of gems used in character foundations. A diamond in strength and beauty, it holds its place firmly, providing strength upon which to build towering character. This diamond recognizes the necessity of knowing what you believe before you begin to build character. It helps you hammer out convictions, and then have the courage to follow through on those convictions. Teenagers who are seeking to build character will benefit greatly from reading books such as Passport to Courage, which spells out the meaning of this foundational diamond, and weaves that meaning into an exciting, dramatic plot of fiction. Andrew, the hero, starts as much less than a hero, giving in to an ever-present peer pressure in a way that turns his life upside down. He needs to stand for what he believes, to have the courage of his convictions, and build character on that mighty diamond. Courage of convictions is, like diamonds, forever.
Integrity is a sapphire, blending into one the blues of the skies, the oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams; forming a never-changing base as strong as our planet on which to build individual character traits. It takes its strength from oneness – a solid block, absolute and without seam or flaw. Its words and its actions match perfectly. Integrity’s sapphire adheres to courage of convictions’ diamond, achieving great strength through their unity.
Once these are laid at the corner, we add other strong foundation stones: durable, red rubies of love; hard, green emeralds of respect; inflexible, pale blue topazes of responsibility; and nearly transparent aquamarines of honesty.
Character’s foundations are, and must be, these precious stones. We should ask ourselves, as we end the year, if our character is built on such a foundation. Good words about character, character education classes, and school ceremonies do not form a foundation - a strong foundation. Neither do changeable, movable moral values.
The foundations of your character will be tested in days ahead. If you have built on these precious stones, you have no cause for concern. If you have built on something less, your building will implode, leaving you with nothing more than a heap of rubble.
That’s the view from my chair. What’s your view?