Keeping Your Word

Once there was an honest Roman named Marcus Atilius Regulus, a general in the First Punic Wars. After he lost a battle with the Carthaginians and was captured, he was given a message to take to the Roman senate asking them to surrender. He would be allowed to do this only if he promised to return to Carthage. He took the oath and set sail for Rome. Once he arrived, Regulus encouraged the senate not to surrender to the Carthaginians. Sadly, he bade farewell to his family and friends and returned to Carthage, where he met the miserable death he expected. Refusing to surrender, Rome was able to overcome Carthage and become a dominant power in the Mediterranean.

Regulus is praised for his brilliant leadership of the Roman people and for being true to his word and accepting death rather than being unfaithful and receiving life.

As a result of his action, Regulus is greatly honored. When a person honors his promises and agreements despite personal pain or loss, he is honored in return.

In this anecdote, Regulus conveys the fact that when a man delivers his word, he is expected to keep it, even if it means the loss of his life.

When a person it true to his promises, he is respected and others are more likely to keep their promises to him.

By contrast, if a person is unfaithful to his promises, others learn to avoid him and refuse to make agreements with him, much less stay true to the promises given.

Just as Regulus kept his word to Carthage, so also is it like the relationship of a child toward that of his parents. If the child, like Regulus, acts in a trustworthy manner, the parents, like Carthage, will trust him. Yet when the child lies to his parents, the parents will refuse to trust him.

The day before D-Day, General Eisenhower approached Major James Goodson of the 336 Fighter Squadron and asked him if his men could keep the German planes off the beach. Major Goodson replied he could. Except for two planes that were able to sneak to the beach, Maj. Goodson kept his promise despite the loss of many comrades and was honored for his work.

Aeshylus, the famous Greek playwright, saw the importance of sticking to your promises. Wisely, he stated, "It is not the oath that makes us believe the man, but the man the oath." We should all take heed of this wise teaching.

Having seen the importance of promises, we must all keep them, despite the pain in it. Whenever we give our word, we will be expected to follow through with it.

Belief Behind the Plays

Football is probably the most well known word in our modern culture. What makes this sport so popular? Well, I thought this was interesting and decided to write about it.

I know most people are thinking, “Why go here? Football is fun, and that is all there is to it.” Of course, football is enjoyable, but I believe there is something deeper here.

Back in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth century, most people were enthralled with their country, ready to go to war at the slightest insult directed against there nation. Great stock was put in the best battle flags and best and flashiest uniforms. This belief is called nationalism.

After WWII, nationalism vanished. Angrily, citizens of the United States raged against their country when we went to war against Vietnam. They even denounced the valiant soldiers who went to overseas to fight.

To replace this lost patriotism, thousands supported their college football teams. We all believe our football team represents our state or city, so we enthusiastically support our team and, of course, are extremely disappointed when they lose.

I hope everyone found this paper thought provoking. I certainly had fun writing it. And remember, go Sooners!

Right on the Money

“The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first and love of soft living and the get-rich-quick theory of life.”

Theodore Roosevelt

The Life Unexaimined is not Worth Living

Socrates, the famous Greek philosopher, once said, "A life which is unexamined is not worth living."

Socrates is praised for his statement because he taught law, politics, and philosophy to the youth of Athens. Despite all this, he still found time to develop the principles of logic that we still use today. Many people also praise the fact that Socrates drank a cup of poison rather than be banished under false charges.

In this famous piece of advice, Socrates is attempting to convey the fact that we need to take a good, hard look at ourselves. Carefully, we should examine our faults, strengths, weaknesses, and character, and if we do not, our lives are not worth living.

Because our only purpose in life is to glorify God, we must not only examine our lives for sin, we need to see how we can better serve Christ. If we do not, we will not realize that we are sinners and will fail to serve the Redeemer. If we examine our lives and find sin, we will come to rely on Christ for our salvation and have eternal life in the fellowship of the Creator.

As it is when you buy a car, you carefully examine the engine, tires, accessories, and cost to see if it suits your needs and to see if there are problems with the the car, so must you examine your life to search for sins. If you fail to examine the car, you may find it inconvenient, and it might be potentially dangerous, just like if you fail to examine your life, you might find yourself in a dangerous spiritual state, and your life might not be worth living.

George Washington, the first President of the United States, examined himself tirelessly to see how he could better improve himself. Immersing himself in Scripture, Washington was slowly conformed to the image of Christ. Because of this, he was a faithful Christian and lived a life definitely worth living.

Paul tells us, in 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves."

Wisely, Socrates gives us the lesson that we should examine our lives for sin. If we do not, we might as well not live it.