We find this to be true especially in America, that there are many, many people that just want to live the good life, without ever applying themselves, sacrificing themselves, or really accomplishing anything of real merit for themselves or for others. While it might be okay to kind of desire these things, it is no credit to a man, that lives a life in which he has made no imprint upon this earth to better it, although, doing no harm, has its place.
Then there are those that insist that they are made of the right stuff, that nothing will ever get them down, which, is rather easy to assert, if everything has pretty much always gone your way, and even in those inevitable times of trouble, you were fortunate enough to have friends, family, and associates that have rushed to your behalf. However, again, handling things when the weather is always or nearly always balmy and calm, may too have its place, but without trials and tests, do you really know the character of a given man?
A man must have trials, must have stumbling blocks, and must have troubles, because the growth in anyone does not come about while lounging about, but comes from asserting yourself against the injustices of life, against the unfairness of things, against tribulations that rattle the cage of even the most composed. There must be things that matter in life, things that you vividly care about, and are willing to risk something to gain something in order to achieve good.
Therefore, in the skeins of time, you must have your days when you are spat upon, knocked down, done wrongly by, not necessarily because you deserve to have these things done to you, but in order to reflect your true character, and the true grit of who you really are underneath the exterior of what people see from the outside. Your best days are not, and have never been, days in which everything goes your way, but, in fact, surprisingly, are the days, when you were challenged to your very core, when those closest to you, deserted you or undercut you, and despite this, you soldiered on, believing that if you didn't give up, if you dusted yourself off, and applied yourself to the tasks at hand, that things would turn in your favor, perhaps slowly, but nevertheless, inevitably. So that, when you have stumbled and gotten back up, when you have been wronged, but then responded with empathy and justice, you have become a stronger force, a better person, a more complete person, because what was meant for your harm, has been turned to your overall good.
There are many people that give off the appearance of being good men, and when things are going their way, many actually are good people. However, test a man to his very core, take away ever leg of the table that he leans upon, and then take the measure of that same man. Some will crumble to the floor, never to be the same, because behind their façade they are actually weak and weak-minded. Then there are others that will adjust, but still remain shaken and still somewhat unsure, having lost confidence with themselves and even with their God. Finally, there are those that have steel in their persona, they will get up under their own power, they will rebuild the table and tableau of their life, and they won't stop there, because that isn't enough, for these men are the men that bend back the injustices of life into the straight beam of justice for all.