The True Christian Is Like A Carpenter

by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

The tragedy of our day is that so many minds are confronted with problems, unexpected tragedies, or catastrophies, for which they have no principle of solution. The Christian is never in that quandary because he has his philosophy of life and hierarchy of values made before a difficulty presents itself. The difference between the modern pagan and the true Christian is, that the former is confronted with strange roads without guideposts, whereas the Christian has a map to cover all the roads; the pagan has need of measuring something but has no measuring rod, the Christian has his standard of values already made before the valuable is presented for appraisal. The Christian is like a carpenter who carries his rule in his pocket — he does not know whether he will have to measure floors, ceilings, doghouses, palaces, movie theaters, or churches; but regardless of whether he has to stand or stoop, he never throws away his ruler, never decides to be a Liberal and makes the foot measure 13 inches, or a reactionary and make it measure 11 inches. A foot, for him, is 12 inches despite Progressive education. The modern, on the other hand, uses moral principles like clothes. He uses one set of principles at one moment, another at another, as he wears white trousers for tennis, formal black for dinner, trunks at the beach, and none at all in his tub. His likes and dislikes determine his moral principles instead of his moral principles determining his likes and dislikes.

h/t: Voices for Life