Character House

In business you meet & are required to deal with literally all types of people. From the pair we named stinky & stinky junior because of their “strength”(before whom my employees retreat with surprising creativity) to those select few that remain cherished friends years after a move. The know nothings, the know everything’s, the story toppers & story stoppers. The idiots who barely evade death & those who do everything at least twice despite the fact that you explained in agonizing detail how to accomplish their task. Amongst all of these & in addition to the you did what I asked you to, it didn’t work & it’s all your fault guy and many others are the slow pay & the no pay. These are the worst of them all. If you are lucky & believe me I try, you can spot them before they get a chance to do any damage, but all too often they get by my defenses & I get zinged again.

Currently I am wandering through the legal labyrinth with two different accounts both of which are seriously past due with sizeable balances. The two cases are related only by the actions of the defendants. I do not believe that either customer got where they are by deliberate action. I do not believe that their intent was to screw me out of my money or to steal my product. However for both men I believe that there was a moment when they made a choice. They chose what was for them the priority.

Not to long ago we read as a family “Little Britches” by Ralph Moody. This is a story, 1st in a series, about Ralphs experiences growing up on a Colorado farm in the early 1900s. Ralph was the oldest & as was typical in those days, he worked along side his Pa from an early age. He was only eight when his dad began to show him how to drive a team of horses. Feeling a little full of himself he wanted to work the horses by himself just to prove how big he was but knowing that Pa wouldn’t allow it just yet he lied to his mother to get the opportunity. Predictably, it didn’t go as planned & latter that afternoon Ralph showed up in the kitchen confessing what he had done in hopes of minimizing his punishment. He was made to stand in the corner until Pa got home at which time he reflected that “Hard as Father could spank, he never hurt me so much with a stick as when Mother stopped talking.” I feel that there is great truth in what Mr. Moody explained so simply to his son. “Son, there is no question but what the thing you have done today deserves severe punishment. You might have killed yourself or the horse, but worse than that , you have injured your own character. A mans character is like his house. If he tears boards off his house and burns them to keep himself warm and comfortable, his house soon becomes a ruin. If he tells lies to be able to do the things he shouldn’t but wants to, his character will soon become a ruin. A man with a ruined character is a shame upon the face of the earth.” Ralph learned that lesson. Throughout the remainder of the book he periodically makes reference to taking off or nailing on the boards of his “Character house”. I wish someone would have taught it to more of my customers. I feel sorry for my customers. As a direct result of their choice to be less than totally honest their lives are quickly deteriorating, becoming a ruin. Its too bad. They are basically good people.

Lack of integrity appears to be so common that the one who stands out is not the crook or shadey dealer but he who is truly beyond reproach. Both of the men I spoke of earlier made a choice. They reached a point when they could either suck wind, admit their mistake & make arrangements to settle the debt or they could choose to duck, weave, avoid & ignore. Pointing fingers & placing blame anywhere but on the man in the mirror. Honest dealings would make life so much simpler. The choice to show integrity is liberating. You can with a clear conscience move through the world & unflinchingly look any man or woman square in the eye. You can even approach our Father in heaven with greater confidence & peace.

I hope & pray that I can teach my children to be better. To be the kind of child that Ralph becomes. To be like the sons of Helaman who were “firm & did put their trust in God continually”. I wish that we would all be like Captain Moroni, a man “of perfect understanding” whose soul did delight in liberty & freedom, who was “firm in the faith of Christ.” For a man with a ruined character truly is a shame.

For what it’s worth,

Ryan