PTP:053.Character Counts

Brad Miller 0:00
pathway to promise podcast with Dr. Brad Miller episode number 53. Character counts you are on the pathway to promise with Dr. Brad Miller Bradley’s every person has a god given promised life of peace, prosperity and purpose, and that you must have a plan and a guide to get there. The pathway to promise podcast Not only is your guide through the wilderness of depression and disappointment that stand between you and your promise life, but also brings you insights and direction from inspiring successful thought leaders who have transformed their lives. Welcome to the pathway to promise now here’s Brad Hello, good people. And welcome to the pathway to promise podcast with Dr. Brad Miller It is an honor and a privilege to have you with me here today. Our purpose here at the pathway to promise is to be a voice of encouragement, and hope to you to help you overcome adversity, to achieve your promise life at peace, prosperity, and purpose. We do that through inspirational stories and teaching. And by hearing from great authors and leaders and thought leaders and teachers and people who are successful in business and in health and in and self development and in financial management. All these areas that could help you overcome the areas we often are heavy difficult to deal with it death in the family or disease, something like a divorce or bankruptcy, any number of things that you may happen in your life that you need to deal with. We’re here to be helpful through conversation, and through commentary through storytelling, and through lessons from great leaders. You can find out more about us at pathway promise. com we have a free gift for you there. It’s called the four minute life Planning Guide. You can go there, it’s a guide to help you start and end your day success. And you can go there you can also check us out on Amazon, subscribe to our podcasts on iTunes, and on Stitcher and other outlets as well. My name is Dr. Brad Miller I’ve been a pastor for over 40 years and have a degree a doctoral degree in life transformation. Could it be helpful to you with great stories of encouragement and hope like this one right now. Arthur Ashe is a great tennis champion, winner of Wimbledon, and many other great tennis tournaments in the mid 1970s. He also was the first black man to be a tennis champion, and broke the color barrier. And the mostly white world of championship tennis. He died tragically, of cancer at a young age. And his autobiography called days of grace. Arthur Ashe tells us the defining moment in his life when he was just 17 years old. And he was playing in a tennis tournament in West Virginia. And was as was almost always the case, he was the only person there. And particularly the only contestant there the only person that’s in the tournament, who was black or even a person of color. And this was a key was this was a camp where all the the players and were lodged together and these cabin type facilities. And one night, somebody some of the other kids who were there, trashed his cabin, they destroyed it, they made, they did a lot of damage. And they blamed it on Arthur, of course. And there was a big brouhaha and lots of things happened. And of course, Arthur got blamed for this and he made the newspapers. And it made the news. That’s a big deal. Arthur course denied his involvement. But the boys would not change their story. And it became a racial thing. But the worst part for Arthur was worried about what his father would say and do when he got home.

Unknown Speaker 4:25
And he knew

Brad Miller 4:28
because he knew how his father had instilled in him this matter of character. But he dreaded the phone call nonetheless. But he knew he had to make the phone call. When he made the call, of course it says it It made the news his father really already knew about the incident about evangelism and about the the tension and everything that was happening there and how Arthur been blamed for this. And this, when Arthur talked to his father, he heard that Graham tone of voice on the other line of the phone from him. Internet grim, serious voice Arthur Ashe, his father asked him, he said, Arthur, I only have one question for you. All I want to know is, were you mixed up in this mess? and Arthur answered, No, daddy, I wasn’t. And as Arthur relates in his book, his father never asked him about it again. Arthur learned that day that it came out in his character, that he had always been taught by his father, to tell the truth. And he came to believe and understand there will be a time when crisis would come and he must be believed, and this was the time. But because he had already earned it, his father’s trust and respect. By being a young man of character, there was never any question that his father believed him. But this confirmed for Arthur the matter that character counts. And he was determined from that day on, no matter what happened to him and lots of stuff, bad stuff happened to him in his whole life. You know, as you can imagine, racism and bigotry and all kinds of things. But he made it a point to live a life of integrity, because he knew that character counts. Now unfortunately, we live in a time when there are too many characters who don’t have a lot of character. There is lots of examples of, of political leaders and people in entertainment and sports and, and business leaders who have people who have not been men and women of character and have been gone down a path of corruption and negativity. And what happens do you think, to their personal integrity when they give low priority to character? Now, I’m not saying we all need to be saints, we all make mistakes. We all do. But you know what people know who you are in your core. When and you know yourself when you are a man or woman of integrity. People determine their best selves when they maintain their integrity. And know that character counts because you gain daily trust and respect of others. No matter what your age or station or their situation of life when you react to others. As a man or woman of integrity and know the importance that character. The world doesn’t necessarily need another seat. But it needs men and women who believe that character counts. What a joy it has been for you to join me today. On the pathway to promise podcast with Dr. Brad Miller We are here to serve you. You can always leave your comments on the website pathway promise calm, you can check us out on our Facebook page facebook.com slash pathway promise. On our website, you can find back episodes of the pathway to promise podcast with great teachings from great leaders and teachers and great stories of encouragement and hope. And we have a free gift for you there the four minute life Planning Guide. We’re here to be helpful to you to help you overcome adversity to achieve your promise life of peace, prosperity, and purpose. Until next time, this is Dr Brad Miller encouraging you to keep your promises because there’s power in a promise kept. Thanks so much for taking the pathway to promise but Dr. Brad Miller as a subscriber, you’ll be a vital part of the pathway to promise community visit us on the web at pathway promise.com until next time, remember to stay on your pathway to promise

Transcribed by https://otter.ai