Focusing on Virtue

One of my prayers for my son, Ben, is that he would grow up to live a virtuous life.  Virtue is not a particularly popular topic in today's world, as a word it smacks of an antiquated bygone era, but virtue was once the goal of which all great people aspired.  Virtue is a process not a result.  Virtue is a way of being, not a bottom line.

In the modern world, we measure success by how many figures are in our salaries, how many people attend our events, our winning percentage, batting average, and state test scores.  However, the problem with measuring success in this way is that it is incredibly difficult to replicate results.  How often have we seen a person with promise be promoted beyond their capacity?  How often have we seen a one-hit-wonder?  How often do we see fast-starters burn out in the long run?

John Wooden says that when he was younger, he wanted to be in better shape than anyone else he played against, but as he matured he saw the foolishness of this thinking.  His goal should never be rooted in being better than another, but rather in being the best he possibly can be.  Wooden says, "Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing that you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable."  This is virtue.  Virtue is the intentional, internal choices to become the best of which you are capable.

David Watson explains, "When we are listening, giving fair consideration to arguments, representing the positions of others accurately, thinking rigorously, and speaking in ways that are logical and coherent, we exhibit intellectual virtue. When we do otherwise, we exhibit intellectual vice."  Notice, that intellectual virtue is not a measurement of truthfulness or falsehood of one's stated position, but rather a measurement of the process that leads one to believe, and virtuously express those beliefs.

Someday, in the relatively near future, Ben will begin to develop the ability to communicate.  And I pray that as he begins to compete on courts, diamonds, rinks, and fields and as he begins to bring home schoolwork and as we talk about what he learned in Sunday School after church, that his mother and I can effectively nurture virtue within him. so that the only person he ever judges himself against is his best possible self, and the way we score each performance is focused on his process rather than the outcome.