Cast of Character – Sunday, November 06, 1955
Somewhere we have heard the story of the old southern hunter who sent his faithful dog on an errand—an errand on which the dog encountered a forest fire and lost his life.
And when the dog’s burned body was found, the old man bitterly wept over him and said, “I had to be keerful what I told him to do, ’cause I know’d he’d do it.”1
So, with our children, we have to be careful what we tell them to do—and more than this, we have to be careful what we show them to do.
The celebrated William James said: “It is well for the world that in most of us, by the age of thirty, the character has set like plaster, and will never soften again.”2
There are some exceptions to suggest that this may not always be so. But let’s accept it for the moment, and then return to it: Sometimes when we are older it may seem quite comfortable to assume that we are so well set that small departures from correct conduct aren’t too serious.
We may think we know how far we can go and still get back without doing ourselves much damage. (Although there is much doubt of it—for many a man has got into trouble long after he was presumed to be old enough to know better!) But for the moment suppose we assume that our character has so set that we who are older can safely engage in a little careless conduct and take a little questionable license and liberty.
But what about those whose characters aren’t so set? What about the lad who may be watching us, who isn’t so sure of himself? What if, following our lead, he departs from a safe path, just a little, and then a little more—and finally finds that he can’t get safely back?
It is a solemnly serious business to tell a youngster what to do—and it is also solemnly serious to set before him an example that is contrary to what we would tell him. And since we can’t be quite sure when the character of a youngster is safely set, we’d better make our actions conform to a pattern that would be safe for young and impressionable people to pursue.
Even should we assume that we ourselves have “set like plaster,” we should carefully consider those who aren’t so set—those who watch our words and our ways and shape their actions and utterances after us.
Whether we ourselves are set or not, we should be careful of our conduct for the sake of others.
1Author and source unknown.
2William James
November 06, 1955
Broadcast Number 1,368