Y’all

Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker. - C.S. Lewis

Good writers, the popularity of evil characters at protagonists or the most popular character is not making our world brighter, only darker. We should return to stories about heroic courage.

Paladin Life:
Train – Teach – Prepare – Stand Firm – Be Humble – Believe in Good

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Y’all

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Love incorporates, flows from, strengthens, and is the foundation of all the other virtues.

We live in a world where kindness is mistaken for nice and virtual signaling and so called tolerance substitute for love. But true love is sacrificial. Sometimes it’s consoling, like a big hug. Sometimes it’s kindly putting someone back on the right path. Wisdom, knowledge, faith, and the rest are required to know which.

Without love, all the other virtues are paper. Without all the other virtues, how do we know how to truly love.

Love is the greatest virtue.

Paladin Life:
Train – Teach – Prepare – Stand Firm – Be Humble – Believe in Good

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Y’all

Good people should be grateful when nice things are done for us, when kindness is showed to us, or when good fortune is ours. We should, and that’s easy.

We should also be grateful when times are hard. Just as a hard workout helps us to discipline our bodies, hard times helps to discipline our minds and souls. That one is harder.

Likewise, we should be grateful when things are going okay, neither fantastic or poor but just ordinary or unremarkable. Grateful to simply be. In my opinion, that one may be harder still.

For the Christian, this is the way we should live. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you 1 Thess 5:16–18

Gratitude is a virtue.

Paladin Life:
Train – Teach – Prepare – Stand Firm – Be Humble – Believe in Good

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Y’all

Be kind to those around you. A good person should never practice cruelty in any way, but don’t confuse being kind with being nice. If we must correct someone, it should be gentle and out of love, but at the same time if we must correct someone, we must correct them. It should never mean going along with others in every way.

Being kind means being generous with our time and resources. Being helpful, especially when nothing is expected in return. Being grateful at the least blessing.

Allowing someone to wallow in brokenness when we could help is not a kindness. It could be misguided “being nice” or even as bad as apathy. But harshly rebuking someone when they are wrong can never be considered kind.

For the Christian, kindness does not mean overlooking someone’s sins, but it does means forgiving them. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; (Luke 6:35–37)

Kindness is a virtue.

Paladin Life:
Train – Teach – Prepare – Stand Firm – Be Humble – Believe in Good

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Y’all

One of the easiest ways to control someone in a fight, and often outside a fight, is to make him mad. A people frightened will more easily surrender. Anyone who allows lust in their lives can be enslaved by it.

Self-Control is the spiritual mastery of the passions of the body and mind. It’s both the control of normal healthy desires and feelings as well as the subduing of unhealthy ones.

To be an effective Martial Artist, as in many other pursuits, it is vital you develop self-control.

For the Christian, self-control is a fruit of the spirit (Gal 5:22–23) and is something we seek from the Lord, not develop from our own effort and will power alone.

Self-Control is a virtue.

Paladin Life:
Train – Teach – Prepare – Stand Firm – Be Humble – Believe in Good

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Y’all

We should be true to our word. Loyalty should be our default behavior. Our devotion to our foundation should be as solid as that foundation. We should reject things that would make us less devout such as pride, greed, envy, and cowardice. We should refuse to move or be moved for any unworthy reason.

Faithfulness is a virtue.

Paladin Life:
Train – Teach – Prepare – Stand Firm – Be Humble – Believe in Good

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Y’all

Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway. - John Wayne

True courage without the other virtues would not be possible. It does not take courage to be good when those around us are also good. In this world ravaged by the spiritual warfare between good and evil, simply defying the gaslighting and saying “no I don’t believe that” is dangerous, and therefore takes courage.

Likewise, not black pilling ourselves, that is, giving in to depression because we feel there is no hope in this corrupt world, also takes courage. We must not only stand up to the corruption of the world, but not lose hope that the fight is winnable.

For the Christian, we have our foundation and therefore our courage and strength in Christ Jesus. We should never fear what they can do to our body, because they can never touch our spirit. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Ephesians 6:10–11

Courage is a virtue.

Paladin Life:
Train – Teach – Prepare – Stand Firm – Be Humble – Believe in Good

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Y’all

Lord give me patience and give it to me now.

When we think of patience as a virtue, we probably think of waiting in lines or traffic, or may be putting up with annoying people. Perhaps we should think about it from the terms of enduring though the times when obedience to our faith is hard.

Without patience, we might doubt our faith in our foundation despite the knowledge we gained.

Patience is a virtue.

Paladin Life:
Train – Teach – Prepare – Stand Firm – Be Humble – Believe in Good

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Y’all

Good people must have a foundation. Mine is my faith. Obedience to the principles and authorities of that foundation are essential to living a good life. If you build against the dictates of a foundation, your structure will be fragile, susceptible to the storms of this world.

This builds greatly on the other virtues. It requires a lot of faith in your foundation, and a firm believe that it is good. You must develop a great amount of knowledge to understand how to be obedient and the wisdom to apply it. The honesty to know when you are being obedient or willful and the humility to put aside your own ego.

Obedience is a virtue.

Paladin Life:
Train – Teach – Prepare – Stand Firm – Be Humble – Believe in Good

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Y’all

I spent this morning thinking of something wise to say about humility, and noticed the irony.

Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues. - Confucius

It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels. - Saint Augustine

Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility. -Saint Augustine

Self-confidence is very important. But without compassion and humility, it’s just arrogance -Anonymous

For the Christians:
Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which you have in Christ Jesus, who though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:3–11)

Humility is a virtue.

Paladin Life:
Train – Teach – Prepare – Stand Firm – Be Humble – Believe in Good

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Y’all

Good people should strive to present ourselves without pretense or the attempt of deception. Honesty should encompass far beyond just the words we speak, but how we act and how we live our lives. We should work hard to not live as a hypocrite and show people who we actually are. Our words, our actions, and the way we live our lives should be a true reflection us.

We cannot conform to a world that honors lies; who call evil good and good evil.` Instead, we live our lives honestly, without attempts at desception.

Christians, Jesus condemns hypocrisy strongly. He has made it clear we are to treasure honesty and work diligently to live an honest life.

Honesty is a virtue.

Paladin Life:
Train – Teach – Prepare – Stand Firm – Be Humble – Believe in Good

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Y’all

I saw an interesting definition of wisdom; the practical understanding and grasping of what is true and right in its living expression and form. This definition aligns with the goals of good people. Unlike the corrupted world, which seeks to teach that right and true are subjective, good people seek the know the truth and use our foundation in faith to guide us. True wisdom is living out the real truth and doing what is truly right.

Wisdom is a virtue.

Paladin Life:
Train – Teach – Prepare – Stand Firm – Be Humble – Believe in Good

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Y’all

We are designed to search out the truth. It is truly an evil person who would seek to withhold knowledge from another. The book of Romans says “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”

We seek out to understand creation because we want to have the knowledge and the truth. We need to not only believe that the truth is out there, or have hope that the truth will win out, but actively seek to know the truth.

This is especially true in this world of lies, gaslighting, and propaganda. We cannot rely on the corrupt and their heralds in the media. We must seek it out like a hunter seeking to feed his family.

Knowledge is a virtue.

Paladin Life:
Train – Teach – Prepare – Stand Firm – Be Humble – Believe in Good

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