Be the Best

How can you refine your personality?  Some people believe you can do so by taking care of your personal needs.  They feel that they must dress well.  The religiously inclined may wear necklaces with crosses dangling on their chests.  Some pay attention if their hair.  Is it black, brown, or blond?  Making sure they are well-groomed they wear the latest styled shoes.  Undoubtedly such dress is beautiful and appealing to admirers.  However, there’s a lot more than dress if you’re to be the best.

Invest in having a well-rounded education.  This leads to emotional, intellectual, and physical development.  In being kind and courteous are good qualities to have.  You may view your personality as having masks of different colors.  Ezra Pound’s Personnae (1909) literally means “masks of actor,” because we’re actors on the world’s stage.  Others may consider it a blessing to have intelligence and to be happy. 

Imperfections as Gifts

Nevertheless we are imperfect.   As we work on improving ourselves we find we’re dogged by weaknesses.  Reconsider your attitudes about these defects and view them as gifts.  Don’t be overly worried but just accept them for what they are.  Maybe you are an alcoholic.  What should you do?  Recognize your affliction by taking responsibility for it.  Seek treatment.  Join Alcoholic Anonymous, and have the courage to speak about your disease.  Share your story as blessings in disguise, and see the stigma melt away.  Your negative gift that was once regarded in a hateful way may well be the catalyst for helping others.

Through afflictions Christians have been known to develop a deeper love and understanding of God.  By this inspiration his saints are able to mature in their faith.  Some cancer patients minister to suffering patients at hospitals.  They view their newly found afflictions as stepping stones to unique vocations.  Their outlook is more than just coping with an ailment.  These afflictions that are gloomy and hopeless to some have caused them to discover what they are doing as valuable.  It’s right to praise such patients for their dedication to the sick.  Their services bring hope, encouragement, and strengthen the vulnerable. 

There are some who view having imperfections as a bad thing.  A comedian and actor Carrie Snow observed, “Technology … is a queer thing.  It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other.”  Was Carrie referring to the conflicting faces of media?  Through the mass media we learn of opinion leaders’ contributions. But after a while their names may be dragged through dirt by some of the same commentators who had praised them.  Like in life we’re presented with the good, bad, and ugly, but the wise learn from these situations.  Technology - whether radio, TV, cable, or, the Internet has its imperfections, but ought to be viewed as gifts.  God-faring people benefit from what’s best in the media.

Care & Respectability

At birth we’re blessed with a myriad of gifts.  Even brain-damaged children have them to share with us.  Our tramps that are belittled have gifts and are also God’s caretakers.  Law abiding citizens dislike criminals running rampantly in their cities and will do anything to stop them.  Why don’t we bury anxieties we nurture about the afflicted?  Why be upset about situations you’re unable to control?  However, God is always in control.  In life there are struggles, but we’re blessed with grace and goodness to see them through.  Many situations aren’t as menacing as they seem. We need prayers and understanding to handle them.  It’s for us to promote good values and morals in our world.

It’s best to refine your personality also by being good-humored.  With persistence we’re able to touch what’s authentic in life.  Be good Samaritans, help the less fortunate, and focus on our good Shepherd, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Allow him to refine your personality and you’ll know what it means to be the best.