Franklin had his own “Project for Moral Perfection.” He strived to become as perfect in a dozen different personal character traits as he could be. He made a list and worked on it his whole life. After a short while one of his friends told Ben he should add another trait to his list. That of humility. And the friend proved the need for improvement in that area by citing several examples.
At least one prophet has suggested that Pride is the sin of this generation. We must all be careful to watch ourselves, and our words and deeds. Pride can be corrosive to character.
In this Easter season I’ve been posting about the Illegal Trial and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It all began because all Hebrew authority was concentrated in their Great Sanhedrin (they were allowed to govern themselves as a ‘client state’ of Rome). There were no checks and balances. Christ was found guilty of blasphemy.
This week’s commemoration of Good Friday and then Easter Sunday is an important milestone in the Christian Religion. It was honored by our Founding Fathers. Thomas Jefferson said that the “Wee Little Book” he created is “proof positive that I am a real Christian . . . .”
It doesn’t get much notice these days, but John Adams actually had quite a bit to do with our country becoming independent. One very interesting letter was written by Adams in support of William Hooper’s (William Hooper, who’s he?) preparation of a new written constitution for the State of North Carolina. This letter was later published by a Philadelphia printer. Here’s one sample paragraph:
“Up, sluggard, and waste not life; in the grave will be sleeping enough” Benjamin Franklin. He also wrote: “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
Benjamin Franklin told some of his closest associates that his favorite Book in the Bible, was the Book of Proverbs. That book is deemed by scholars to have been written by King Solomon. And Ben loved Solomon. You can tell by reading that Proverbs was even the source for some of Franklin’s adages and quotes in his “Poor Richard’s Almanac.”
C. S. Lewis, a Christian Writer (The Chronicles of Narnia) of his day (1898-1963) had an interesting way of explaining things. Another writer said of him: “The mere Christianity of C. S. Lewis is not a philosophy or even a theology that may be considered, argued, and put away on a shelf (kind of like our debate about being a Christian nation).