The saying “to be rather than to seem” powerfully struck my brain and if I’m being truthful, my conscience, when I first heard it while driving tractor and listening to Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Covey explained that the powerful idea – actually being rather than just seeming – has Latin roots and is the motto for the State of North Carolina.
These days seeming is the name of the game. What am I posting on my social media? How does my family seem when we are in public? What does my life seem like? I know countless individuals who wrap their lives around seem.
But, it’s the be people we really want in our lives. It’s the be people who accomplish meaningful and desirable objectives. We need to be BE people!! Who cares about how we seem? And, who are we fooling anyway? God knows exactly who and how we are. In the end, we fool no one!
William Paca was a be person. He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Most striking about Mr. Paca is B.J. Lossing’s characterization of his life. On page 156 of this book, which I hope everyone has obtained for their personal libraries:
Lossing explains that Mr. Paca “was a pure and active patriot, a consistent Christian, and a valuable citizen, in every sense of the word. His death was mourned as a public calamity; and his life, pure and spotless, active and useful, exhibited a bright exemplar for the imitation of young men [and women] in America.”
Paca didn’t just seem he actually was. Look at Lossing’s characterization – Mr. Paca was a “consistent Christian.” I’m thinking this means Mr. Paca was his God-fearing, believing and acting self – all seven days of the week, not just the Sabbath Day or when it looked good. Consistent – that’s a dirty word these days, isn’t it? Rare is instant gratification for the consistent person, but abundant is lasting gratification!
New goal: to heck with perception and all in with genuineness!
The History Marm 