Download MP3 Audio Track
“No virtue can be great if it is not constant” (Alfonso Milagro).
IN A WORLD WHERE THE PACE OF CULTURAL CHANGE IS QUICKENING, WE SHOULD MAKE SURE THAT OUR CHARACTER AND OUR COMMITMENTS DON’T CHANGE AS OFTEN AS OUR OUTWARD CONDITIONS DO. Whatever virtues we may possess today, these will be of little value in the long run if they don’t remain constant.
Constancy is a truly amazing gift when it’s given to others. Until you try it, you may not believe the difference it will make when you let those around you know that, from now on, they can count on you. No matter what the relationships may be, when those who have to deal with you find out they no longer have to guess what you’re going to do, there will quickly be a change for the better in those relationships. When (a) your character is constant, (b) your commitments are kept, and (c) your actions are “count-on-able,” you will start getting thank-yous from people who appreciate what you’ve given them.
John Calvin said, “The word ‘hope’ I take for faith; and indeed hope is nothing else but the constancy of faith.” It may be that this statement sums up the major challenge before us these days: to maintain the constancy of faith, that is, to hold on to the things that we believe in, based on trustworthy evidence, when the momentary appearance of things seems to call our confidence into question.
There is one kind of constancy that may seem to be inconstant, and that is the constancy of growth. If we’re true to our principles, constancy may sometimes require changes that have the appearance of inconsistency. But there is no better constancy than holding fast to conscience — making whatever changes are necessary as our conscience gets a better grip on the reality of right and wrong.
Perhaps above all, though, we need the constancy of love. Most of us are at least a bit moody, and even if we’re not moody, we’re subject to the pressures of our changing circumstances. Can’t we make it a point of honor to be constant in our love for those who have a right to expect love from us? Try giving that gift and see what happens!
“There are two sorts of constancy in love: the one comes from the constant discovery in our beloved of new grounds for love, and the other comes from making it a point of honor to be constant” (François de la Rochefoucauld).
Gary Henry — WordPoint.com
