Quality

'You have shown your quality, sir' says Sam to Faramir. Of course, the movie tells it differently from the book. Faramir never takes Frodo and Sam to Gondor in the book. But the fact of the matter is, Faramir's quality was judged by his actions.

I heard a high school girl talking about a classmate a few weeks ago. She said some rather nasty words I'll not repeat, but this classmate was judged entirely by her appearance, most notably her extra weight. Let's be honest, and admit that a person's appearance does affect our perception of them. But surely it should not hold as important a place as it does among the young of our country! Surely the face and shape of a person's body, which a person has only so much control over in any case, ought not to be the sole determinate of their value.

By what, then, do we judge a person? Is it the person's intentions? Probably not, since many of us have good intentions, especially 'resolutions' this time of year that we'll never live up to. It is some obscure measurement of character? How does one measure character, the essence of who a person is?

Character, though it may be an 'old fashioned' concept, is expressed in action. Our intentions may be expressed by our words, but it is the true character that comes out in our actions in the long run. So our actions, the way we live life, the way we relate to people, our commitments of time and energy... these are the criteria by which we should 'evaluate' ourselves.

Of course, we are like the grass of the field, here today and gone tomorrow, so our true value lies in something deeper, something eternal, something given to us by Another. But the 'measure of a man' is in his actions.

So say I.