Daily Meditation: Saturday, February 8, 2003

It is natural to appreciate men and women for the gifts …

02/08/2003

It is natural to appreciate men and women for the gifts they possess. Whether they are writers, artists, scientists or even athletes, one cannot but marvel at their talents and sometimes even their genius. But is this any reason to neglect their moral qualities? Are they good, fair, honest, and generous? Often this consideration is secondary, and it is only talent that people notice. It is talent that everyone tries to cultivate, since, it is for this that people are so highly esteemed. This is why the earth is now populated with capable, talented people. It is incredible, there are swarms of them, but why are all these abilities, all these talents, all these geniuses unable to save the world? On the contrary, it could even be said that they are contributing to its destruction. We often hear people say: 'Ah! He is so gifted, he has so many abilities that he can be forgiven everything!' Well, this is very bad reasoning. Someone who is particularly favoured by nature must, on the contrary, make great efforts to uphold, to crown his gifts and talents with moral qualities. Otherwise, instead of becoming what he should be, a benefactor of humanity, he behaves like a thief.