Dictated by Virtue

I've been reading Kris Vallotton's latest work, Purity: A New Moral Revolution.
Here are some good words in Chapter 3 -- THE GREAT ESCAPE:

Living From Your Virtues

Years ago, I read a book about the life of Benjamin Franklin. The author recounted that Franklin decided who he wanted to be early in his life, and he wrote 13 virtues to guide all of his decisions so that he would be become that person. Benjamin Franklin didn't want his emotions, his circumstances, or the pressure of pleasing others to determine his destiny, define his personhood, or dictate his legacy. I was so inspired by the idea that I could live out of my virtues instead of living from the circumstances of my life that I wrote my own virtue list. The process of envisioning who I was created and called to be and then writing down the virtues that would enable me to become that person was so exciting. Here are a few of my own -- maybe they will help to inspire you also:

• I will serve God first and honor Him always, both in life and in death.
• I will be honest, loyal, trustworthy, and a man of my word, no matter what the price.
• I will keep my values, regardless of how much they cost me, and if I fail, I will be quick to repent.
• I will treat all people with respect, whether they are friend or foe, because they were created in God's image.
• I will strive to love everyone, despite their opinions, attitudes, or persuations and inspite of how they treat me.
• I will be loyal to my wife, both in thought and deed into eternity.
• I will live to bless and empower the generation to come and leave and inheritance both in the Spirit and in the natural for three generations.
• I will never work for money or sell myself at any price. I will only be motivated to do what I believe to be the right thing and reveive my sustenance from God. I vow to be generous no matter what my circumstances may be.
• I will live my life to bring out the best in people and to bring them into an encounter with the real and living God.

Virtues help us to live from the inside out instead of from the outside in. No longer do I live by other people's rules. Instead, I live by values that guide my attitudes, which in turn determine my choices. Choices dictate my behavior. My behaviors become manisfestations of my personhood, and my personhood leads me into my destiny.

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Set the New-Year resolution aside for a moment.
It's time to build a Virtue List that lasts for eternity.

Johnny