| Words of Life
and Hope |
Scott Watts, Chaplain |
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| From the Maxims of Thomas
J. “Stonewall” Jackson: Endeavor to do well everything which you
undertake through preference.
When Jackson was twenty years old and a West Point cadet, he wrote his sister: “Be not discouraged by dis-appointments and difficulties, but on the contrary let each stimulate you to greater exertions for attaining noble ends, and an approving conscience at least will be your reward.” Henry David Thoreau lent credence to that precept with the statement: “I know of no |
more encouraging
fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious
endeavor.” A word never associated with Jackson was slothfulness. He put heart and soul into everything he attempted. If he was ever aware of “a second chance” at something, he never mentioned it. The effort, whatever it might be, had to be concentrated. “Awkwardness,’” Lord Chesterfield wrote, “is a more real disadvantage than it is generally thought to be; it often occasions ridicule, it always lessens dignity.” Of course, in the matter of faith, Jackson’s endeavors |
never waned. A minister friend stated:
“To the glory of a soldier always invincible in battle, he added the high
moral glory of a Christian always faithful to the Lord. While eminent
for many things, he was pre-eminent for his abiding trust in God…He was a
man of God first and last, and always.
May it be said of each of us, that we too made the highest pursuit of God and His righteousness while in this life. As the Apostle Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21 |