An ancient Greek philosopher taught that “a good man or woman does nothing for the sake of appearances, but for the sake of doing right. (Epicetetus)
At the end of our lives, when we meet with our Creator, we will not be measured by the newspaper articles or the sound bites, or what we appeared to do. No, what we will be held accountable for will be our choices in life, our actions, as well as the motivations behind them.
The true measure of character comes not in blithely dismissing the importance of appearances, but it is in the very act of knowing how important appearances are and still taking a stand simply for the sake of knowing that it is the right thing to do.
May the Holy One of Blessing, our Creator and Judge, grant us the ability to always discern the right path, and give us the fortitude to walk down it. May this be God’s will--AMEN.