Most of us want quick results. We live in a world that is full of instant results. We’ve become so used to getting things so quickly, that we forget changing our habits and character takes time.
But still, we wish we could instantly be more mature, more gentle, more loving, and have more integrity. Instead of building our character daily, we try quick fixes and we keep missing the mark. We must practice every day the traits and habits we want in our lives.
When our grandson Cristian was a baby, Pop-Pop would consistently whisper in his ear, “Cristian, when you grow up you’re gonna be a man of integrity.” He was too little to understand what the word integrity meant, but Pop-Pop knew that one day he would ask about it. Sure enough, when Cristian was three he asked what the word integrity meant.
Pop-Pop simply said, “Cristian, it means to do the right thing every time”. Cristian said, “Oh. Okay.” End of conversation.
Within a couple days Cristian’s mom called Pop-Pop and told him what Cristian did for her. She said, “Dad, Cristian did the sweetest thing. I was laying on the couch not feeling well. Cristian was busy playing and he stopped what he was doing and slipped onto the couch beside me. He asked me if I wasn’t feeling well and began stroking my hair and face. He got a blanket and covered me and then asked if he could get me a drink of water. I told him that would be nice. He ran to the kitchen, pulled up a chair to get me a glass of water, and brought it over and snuggled next to me. All the while I’m watching and wondering what is making him be so sweet to me. So I asked him about it.”
He said, “Oh, I’m just practicing to be a man of integrity.”
It took her by surprise and of course, she called her Dad to tell him what Cristian did. She could not believe he used the word integrity! Pop-Pop told her why he knew the word. Up until that point, no one knew about the whispering between Pop-Pop and Cristian.
It’s a cute story, but also very practical. To become a person of integrity and to build our character takes practice. We keep doing the right thing and, in time, we become the kind of person others enjoy being around and we can actually like who we have become.
Integrity is not built in a day, but it is built daily.
We can’t microwave character development, despite our greatest efforts. Keep practicing and one day you will look back and clearly see that your discipline has made you a better person.
