In one of my graduate classes, we were given time to share how God had worked in our lives. One pastor shared how he lived in college. He was brilliant—but he was a jerk. He used his sharp intellect to tear people down. Other people’s feelings weren’t even on his radar.
This is the exact opposite of moral excellence. You can have intellectual excellence, but without moral excellence, you are not living an excellent life.
The Morally Excellent Faith
The Apostle Peter called the scattered believers of the first century to pursue exactly this sort of life. He said, you believe. That’s good. Now put as much effort as you can into making your life a morally excellent one (1 Pet. 1:5).
The word he used was aretas, or virtue. This word could refer to excellence of any kind, but when applied to human beings it referred especially to living a life of moral excellence.
Peter did not leave the meaning of this moral excellence to their imagination. He explained what this life looks like in concrete terms. He said that virtue must be wise, that wisdom must be self-controlled, that self-control must persevere, that perseverance must be centered on God, that this God-centeredness must produce brotherly love, and that brotherly love must overflow into love for everyone we meet (see 2 Pet. 1:5–7).
The word Peter used for “add” is especially rich. It is derived from the Greek theater and refers to organizing the parts of a chorus so that they sound beautiful together. It can also mean “supply” or “intentionally organize” these specific components. The point is that none of these virtues stands alone. They are meant to work together.
Think about it. If someone is self-controlled but does not persevere or keep going, what good is it? If someone is disciplined but does not care for God or for people, what good is that kind of discipline?
That’s why you need all of these things working in harmony. And that is much easier said than done. So what do we do? The good news is that resources are available.
Resources for a Morally Excellent Life
Peter says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life . . .” (2 Pet. 1:3). That is an astonishing statement. Everything we need. Already given. Available.
This is what Jesus has won for us. God made a promise: if we believe in and receive Jesus as the Savior of the world, He will make us participants in the divine nature.
Anyone who has accepted this gift is already a partaker of the divine nature. That does not mean that we become all-knowing or that we can create a new world. It means that we are now capable of a virtue—a moral excellence—that truly reflects His moral excellence (the same word used in vv. 3 and 5).
Have you ever looked at a car in the summer and been blinded by the sunlight shining off of it? You are not looking directly at the sun. You are looking at a reflection. The surface of the car is “partaking” of the sun’s brightness.
That is how we partake of the divine nature. We are beginning to reflect it. A change is taking place. A transformation is occurring. We have escaped the corruption of the world and are being made glorious.
An Example of Moral Excellence
One interesting thing about my generation is that we knew many people before Facebook. Over time, we lost touch with them—but then we reconnected—through Facebook.
The pastor I mentioned earlier was one of those people. He began reconnecting with people he had known earlier in life. They saw his life and what he was doing now. They noticed the difference. They realized that a real change had taken place. They actually wrote to him and asked, “What happened to you? You were such a jerk!”
It surprised him. He had not even realized how much he had changed. But it also encouraged him.
He was able to tell them exactly what had happened: God’s power. That was it. God had changed him. He had worked at it, yes—but God had been working even in that effort. God really had given him everything he needed for life and godliness.
But what does this transformation look like in concrete terms? In the following articles, we will explore four key aspects of this transformation: community-mindedness (justice), practical wisdom (prudence), intentional living (temperance), and resolute endurance (fortitude). In the next article, we’ll consider community-mindedness.
At 15, Charles Spurgeon was driven by a snowstorm into a small chapel. There, he heard the good news about Jesus and gave his life to Christ.
By his 19th birthday, he had become a preacher at New Park Street Baptist. Seven years later, the congregation moved to the 5,000-seat Metropolitan Tabernacle. Four years after that, in 1865, he began publishing a monthly magazine that would help thousands process the truth.
Spurgeon connected deeply with God, but he was also a profoundly community-minded man. He believed faith was meant to be public—to shape lives, institutions, and cities.
Community-Mindedness and Moral Excellence
Community-mindedness is the beating heart of virtue. Virtue is not private. There is no season of “working on yourself” first and then developing communal virtue later. The two must grow together. Virtue is communal. Period.
This is really what the ancients meant (and more) when they talked about “justice” as a cardinal virtue. Doing good isn’t just about ourselves. It is about our community. That’s why I’ve described it as community-mindedness. “Justice” can seem too transactional, as if we only have to care about our neighbor when some wrong is committed and needs to be corrected in court. The concept is much broader: thinking of the community all the time.
The Bible reflects this view of moral excellence and virtue. Peter explains that we are to add to our faith virtue, and that this virtue leads us to mutual affection for one another and to a general love that reaches out to all people (2 Peter 1:7). Moral excellence inevitably moves outward.
The Apostle Paul described this same posture in his letter to the Roman church. Addressing differences within the body, he wrote, “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves” (Romans 15:1). He then grounded this in a larger principle: “Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up” (Rom. 15:2). This is community-mindedness. We do not simply think about what is good for ourselves. We consider what is good for everyone.
This is the pattern Jesus Himself showed. “For Christ did not please Himself . . .” (Rom. 15:3). His life was consistently oriented toward the needs of others, toward the good of the community—not His own comfort or ease.
What does this look like in practice?
What does it actually look like to think and live this way?
Here are a few concrete expressions
- Start a regular rhythm—like meals or meet-ups—that keeps the community connected and engaged.
- Take initiative to organize or improve something everyone benefits from.
- Notice who’s been less involved and draw them back into the shared life of the group.
- Encourage teamwork and shared responsibility when energy starts to fade.
- Help communicate clearly so people know what’s happening and feel part of it.
- Celebrate group milestones and recognize others’ contributions.
- Bring together people who wouldn’t normally interact to strengthen unity.
- Step into a role or task that helps the whole group function better.
- Suggest or launch a new idea that adds value to the community’s mission or rhythm.
- Model steady, positive commitment that inspires others to stay engaged.
The key is learning to notice who is there and asking how things could be better. That is what community-mindedness means in practice.
Now imagine the ripple effects. What would happen if every person thought this way? What if people cared not only about their own houses, but about the good of their neighborhood? Not just their neighborhood, but the city? Not just the city, but the state? Not just the state, but the nation? Not just the nation, but the world?
But it always starts close to home. When we enter a church, for example, we think not only about our own tasks or what makes us comfortable, but about what others are doing and what helps them thrive.
Answering Objections
Most people agree, at least in theory, that living for the good of the community is virtuous. In practice, however, objections quickly arise.
Objection 1: I need to work on myself first.
Answer: You are a social creature as well as an individual. Living well with others is part of what it means to be human. You cannot become a good human in isolation. This is obvious to everyone.
Objection 2: I will be trampled on.
Answer: Living for the good of the community does not mean living at the whims of others. Doing what is truly good for the community often conflicts with what people want in the moment. Being a doormat helps no one—not you, not those who mistreat you, and not the community. Community-minded living often requires hard conversations and firm boundaries, not passive acquiescence.
Objection 3: This won’t make me happy.
Answer: It will. Confusion reigns on this point. Modern Western individuals focus relentlessly on themselves—and what is the result? Widespread anxiety and depression. By contrast, the classic Western tradition, from Aristotle to Jesus, taught that happiness is found in service to the community. Speaking of service, Jesus said, “If you know these things, blessed are you, if you do them” (Jn. 13:17). Service is the path to happiness and blessedness.
The Goal
The goal, then, is simple but demanding: that we would do far more good for the communities we inhabit. We must move beyond ourselves and ask, what is best for the whole?
This is exactly what the Apostle Paul urged upon the Galatian church: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Gal. 6:10). Each of us should seek to do as much good as we can for as many people as we can.
That kind of life begins with attentiveness to the communities we already belong to. It means thinking bigger, aiming higher, and refusing to settle for minimal engagement.
That is precisely what Charles Spurgeon did in nineteenth-century London. He was not content merely to write theology or preach sermons. He wanted to show love and do tangible good for those who needed it most—the orphans of the city.
In 1867, Spurgeon and his church opened an orphanage for boys in London called Stockwell. A decade later, he opened one for girls. That work continues today, more than 150 years later.
This is what happens when community-mindedness takes root. Its impact multiplies. But it always starts where we are.
So here is the challenge: ask yourself one simple question—“Think of one community you’re part of—what concrete steps could you take to aim higher and help the whole community flourish?”
Community-mindedness leads us to think beyond ourselves and to seek the good of the communities around us. But good intentions are not enough. We can genuinely want to help others and still do more harm than good.
That’s why community-mindedness needs a second virtue: practical wisdom. We must not only seek what is good; we must understand the best ways to accomplish it.
If anyone was community-minded in our nation’s history, it was Martin Luther King, Jr. He rightly sought the correction of the many injustices inflicted upon African-Americans. But his vision was larger than that. He wanted a better community for everyone. As he said, “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood” (The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., 260). He called this vision the “beloved community.”
His concern for justice was not limited to African-Americans alone. He understood that injustice degrades not only those who suffer from it but also those who perpetrate it. As he wrote, “We do not seek to remove this unjust system for ourselves alone but for our white brothers as well. The festering sore of segregation debilitates the white man as well as the Negro” (ibid. 145). If that was the goal, what was required to reach it? He needed a lot of practical wisdom both to counteract injustice and to bring people together.
The Need for Wisdom
Anyone who sincerely seeks the good of the community quickly discovers that good intentions are not enough. We need practical wisdom—wisdom to see both the goal and the right means to achieve it.
That is precisely what the Apostle Paul prayed for the church in Philippi. He knew they had love, a genuine affection for the community. What they needed was wisdom to direct that love well. He wrote:
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God (Phil. 1:9–11).
Let’s take this apart. First, Paul wanted them to bear good fruit. That means he wanted them to do and experience genuine good—for themselves, for others, and ultimately for the glory of God.
Second, he knew they already had love. They had the desire to do good and to act for the sake of the community.
Third, he saw that their love needed to abound “in knowledge and depth of insight.” This is wisdom. Love must be informed and directed.
Fourth, this wise love would allow them to “discern what is best.” It was not love grasping for whatever seemed right in the moment. It was love guided by judgment, seeking the best way to help. That is what love does when it is wise.
An Unwise Love
Is an unwise love possible? Certainly. We see examples of it all the time.
People often want to help, but they do so in the wrong way. After the fires in Gatlinburg, mountains and mountains of bottled water arrived in our area. It wasn’t really needed. But people wanted to “do something.”
In that case, the consequences were relatively harmless. But sometimes they aren’t. The classic example is the caterpillar struggling to emerge from its cocoon. That struggle strengthens its wings for flight. Someone may notice the struggle and intervene to help. The immediate goal is achieved, but the caterpillar’s long-term prospects are damaged.
So it is with human beings. We can become so uncomfortable with struggle that we prevent people from learning and growing. And once we fall into that pattern, we often fail to help when people truly do need it. That is why love must be guided by wisdom.
Another example is party-spirit. There is a kind of community-mindedness driven by excessive party zeal. This is a deceptive—even demonic—imitation of true wisdom. It feels right because it claims to serve the community, but it is not rooted in love for the whole community. This is the heart of James’ warning in James 3: that “the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17).
What Does Community-Building Wisdom Look Like?
So, what does this kind of wisdom look like in practice? Scripture gives us a remarkably clear summary in 1 Thessalonians 5:14: “And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” These words reflect four essential aspects of wise, community-building love. It begins with the recognition that not everyone is the same.
There are people who simply cannot do what we are asking. You cannot go from never working out to a 400-pound deadlift overnight. You need steps. The same is true of character. People grow gradually and need wise guidance along the way.
There are also people who are capable but afraid. They need encouragement. This is how God often works with those called to leadership. He says, “I am with you.” Encouragement helps people see what they can do, what resources they already possess, and what others in similar situations have done before them.
There are also people who are doing the wrong things. They need confrontation. One of the most important—and difficult—callings of leadership is confronting what is wrong. It is uncomfortable, but it is necessary for the health of the community.
And with everyone, growth is a process. That is why Paul ends with this command: “Be patient with everyone.” Building people up and strengthening a community takes time. Wise love understands that and remains patient.
This is what love looks like when it is filled with knowledge and depth of insight.
How Do We Get That Wisdom?
We ask. We ask others for counsel, but most of all we ask God. When the young King Solomon looked at the burden of ruling a kingdom, God asked what he desired. Solomon answered simply: “Wisdom.”
God was so pleased with that request that He gave Solomon many other blessings as well.
That same wisdom remains available to us. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5). Wisdom is available for the asking. That is a promise.
An Encouragement
When Martin Luther King, Jr. confronted the injustice of segregation, he knew change would not come easily. “Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily” (Autobiography, 191). He could have chosen passivity, or he could have turned to violence. Instead, he concluded, “The way of acquiescence leads to moral and spiritual suicide. The way of violence leads to bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. But the way of nonviolence leads to redemption and the creation of the beloved community” (ibid., 134).
King chose a means that fit the end he sought: the building of a better community through nonviolent resistance. That path came at great cost and provoked fierce opposition. As he noted, “My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure” (ibid., 191). In this case, violent action—even if sometimes justifiable—would have led in an entirely different direction. This was wisdom, and our nation is a far better community because of it.
That is what can happen when deep community-mindedness is joined to practical wisdom.
Community-mindedness directs us toward the good, and practical wisdom helps us discover the best ways to achieve it. But there is another challenge. Even when we know what we should do and how to do it, we may fail to organize our lives to accomplish it.
This brings us to the third virtue: deliberate living. It is the virtue that leads us to order our time, resources, habits, and choices around the greater good we want to accomplish.
In 2021, my daughter and I went to Egypt for two weeks. In part because of Covid, my daughter ended up homeschooling, so this became her senior trip. It was her first time out of the country. It was my first time out of the country in years. It was awesome and life-changing. It gave her a perspective on the world she had never had before, and it awakened something in me that had been sleeping for a long time.
At the end of the trip, my daughter said to me, “When I have more money, I want to travel.”
I responded immediately, “That’s not the way to think about it. Make it your goal to travel, and you will find the money.”
That’s how the third cardinal virtue works. It’s about deliberate living. It’s about organizing our lives around the best things.
The word often used for this virtue is “temperance.” But that word doesn’t really capture what is in view. It makes people think merely of avoiding something bad or not using good things too much.
But that’s not really the point. The point is not the means. It’s the end. When you aim at good and big things, you begin organizing your life to get there. That’s the point about travel. When you have a clear goal to take a big trip, you start thinking about how you spend money everywhere because you want to gather the resources you need to do something bigger.
That’s the real meaning of temperance—or deliberate living.
How the Apostle Paul Expresses This in 1 Corinthians
In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he returns to this theme again and again: clarify how you spend your time by orienting your life toward better things.
In the ancient world, there was often discussion about what was good and what was useful or helpful. You can find this, for example, in Cicero’s On Duties (read about here). Paul takes up this same theme: “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful” (1 Corinthians 6:12).
So how are we to judge? We look at our goal. Not everything is useful for achieving it.
Paul says, “The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body” (1 Cor. 6:13). Sexual immorality is not a proper use of the body, and therefore it does not help us achieve our true purpose as human beings. Paul explains what that purpose is: the body is made for the Lord. It is an instrument for communion with and service to the Lord.
Another example: “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Cor. 9:22b). Paul lets go of many lesser goods and adapts to the cultures and conditions of the people he is with. He does not do this randomly or merely for its own sake. He orders his life toward a clear end: that he might save some. He lets go of a lesser good (living strictly according to one’s own culture) and pursues a greater good (connecting with people in their culture) for a far higher purpose (their salvation).
That is deliberate living.
In 1 Cor. 9:24–27, Paul uses the illustration of an athlete. The athlete willingly foregoes many things and engages in demanding disciplines because of a goal: to win the prize. That’s an analogy for life. The higher goal is to enjoy salvation and its benefits—communion and fellowship with the Lord.
“No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Cor. 9:27).
It’s not just exercise for its own sake. It’s training directed toward making oneself fit for “the prize.”
Paul returns again to the theme of 1 Cor. 6 in chapter 10. He says, “I have the right to do anything, you say—but not everything is beneficial” (10:23).
What makes something beneficial? Your goal.
You don’t simply do whatever you want because you have an aim. “No one should seek their own good, but the good of others” (v. 24). Paul explains that this is what drives him: “For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved” (1 Cor. 10:33). He deliberately lets go of a real good (his own) for the sake of a greater good (that of the community).
So temperance, self-control, and moderation are not ends in themselves. They are training that aligns our actions with our higher purpose. The higher purpose is service to the Lord and the good of our neighbors.
That’s temperance. That’s deliberate living.
Two Illustrations
The first illustration comes from money. I am thankful that I have been able to enjoy a middle-class American life. However, living a normal middle-class life has required discipline. I could not simply go out and buy a new car every year, for example. Discipline has been forced upon me.
But what if I had made five times my salary? What if I could buy a new car every year and not even think about it?
In that case, the question becomes: do we really need all this stuff? Do we really need all these luxuries? What should we go without? What is too much? Those are difficult questions.
But here’s the thing. Looking at each of those questions individually makes the decisions complicated. What if you could realign them all with a bigger goal?
What if you sought to do something genuinely good with your money—something that required real sacrifice? Maybe even something you could not accomplish alone?
Suddenly the decisions become easier. You would no longer evaluate purchases in the abstract. You would evaluate them in light of your larger goal. You would be living deliberately with your money.
But it all depends on having a goal in view.
The second example is that of my daughter.
We got back from Egypt in May 2021. That summer, she began learning Spanish and met some Colombians. She decided she wouldn’t “wait until she had money” to travel. She simply decided to travel.
On the day before her 19th birthday, she got on a plane to travel to Colombia to meet those same friends and travel throughout their country. She did it because she didn’t wait for the means. She made the goal, and the means became clear.
She did more than that. She decided to enroll in a Colombian university and studied there for a year. She found a way. She set the goal. Then it became clear what to say “no” to and what to say “yes” to each day. She was working toward a higher good.
That’s the virtue of temperance—the third cardinal virtue.
Conclusion and Application
Are you struggling with time-wasting, useless habits, or destructive impulses? It is good to fight against these things by setting time limits on phones, pursuing accountability, and taking other practical steps. Push hard against the things that hold you back.
But add a pull—the pull of greater goals.
If you are struggling, start here: are your goals big enough? Do you have enough ambition to do good for God, yourself, and your neighbor? Are you being pulled away from those negative or less useful activities toward something higher?
If not, it may be time to rethink what you are doing and recover a bigger vision.
The virtue of justice sets the higher goal. It places before us the glory of God and the good of the human community. Wisdom helps us see the best way to pursue that goal. Temperance orders our lives so that we can achieve it and keeps us focused on it.
We have now considered three distinct virtues. Community-mindedness sets before us the good we should seek. Practical wisdom helps us determine how to achieve it. Deliberate living orders our lives so that we can pursue it.
But even when we have a worthy goal, a wise plan, and the discipline to carry it out, we will encounter obstacles. People may oppose us. Circumstances may change. Our efforts may fail. What will keep us going?
For that, we need a fourth virtue: resolute endurance. It enables us to continue doing good even when the way forward becomes difficult.
In the 1920s, Clarence Keith wanted to leave the United States and serve as a missionary in South Africa. In those days, you had to mail in paperwork, get visas approved, and hope everything turned out alright when you arrived at the boat (not the plane!) to cross the ocean.
Clarence arrived in New York a couple of days before his departure, but the visa was not ready. The trip was cancelled. He returned to his home in southern Indiana to contemplate his next steps.
Roberta McMillan had attended God’s School of the Bible at the same time as Clarence. She also applied to be a missionary. She was refused because the organization did not want to send her as a single woman.
She also returned home to contemplate her next steps.
When you want to do something big in the world, setbacks and opposition are inevitable. What will you do when you hit a wall?
To keep going forward, you need resolute endurance. That’s the fourth cardinal virtue. It is sometimes called fortitude or courage. It is the ability to keep going and continue doing good when things get hard.
How the Bible Describes This
Resolute endurance is a common theme in the Bible. In living the Christian life and seeking to do good works, you will face opposition. You need the strength of endurance to keep going.
Jesus is the model here. He set before Himself a great goal: the redemption of the world. That mission meant opposition and the cross (Heb. 12:1–3). We are to consider His example and prepare ourselves to follow it.
One word the Bible uses for this virtue is patience. People develop at different rates, process things differently, and sometimes oppose us. The Apostle Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to recognize these differences and respond wisely. He said, “warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak . . .” (1 Thess. 5:14). But then he added a universal command: “be patient with all.”
Getting people to work together takes patience. That is the fourth virtue applied to ordinary relationships.
Another biblical word for this virtue is perseverance. It refers to our ability to keep doing good in the face of opposition.
Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you” (Luke 6:27).
Some people hear this as a reaction: wait until someone harms you, then try to do them good. But I think Jesus intends something deeper: do as much good as you can, and don’t let the evil actions of others deter you from continuing to do good—even toward those who wrong you.
Paul captured this beautifully: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21).
That is the principle. Keep doing good no matter what.
Why? To let evil triumph? No. Ultimately, to overcome it with good.
This is where hope comes in. Hope is the oxygen of resolute endurance.
The Need for Hope
Consider Jesus again. What kept Him going?
A vision of the good: “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2).
We do not endure suffering for suffering’s sake. We endure suffering for the sake of the good.
How can we have hope? Let’s consider the hope we have for ourselves and the hope we can have for the good we seek to do in the world.
First, what hope do we have for ourselves when we face hardship? That God will turn it for our good.
The Apostle Paul explains this promise: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28).
Some people hear this and think: God will bring good out of this, but we do not know what that good is. While it is true we cannot see everything God is doing, Paul actually tells us what that good is: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son . . .” (Rom. 8:29).
The good that God is working in His people is transformation—making them more like Jesus.
This purpose gives us hope when life is hard. In fact, it allows us to rejoice even in suffering.
Earlier in Romans, Paul wrote: “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Rom. 5:3–4).
This is something people already know from experience: going through hard things can make you stronger. You grow. You learn.
That is Paul’s point. The greatest heroes pass through the greatest trials. Great threats often produce great victories.
But in this case, victory is not uncertain. In Christ, it is assured. That is why there is real hope.
What about the good we seek to do in the world? Can we hope that our efforts will matter?
Yes.
Paul explains the principle this way: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:9).
This promise does not refer only to individual growth. It refers to the good we do for others.
Paul continues: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Gal. 6:10).
Doing good is not only good in itself. It also produces results. It makes an impact.
This is the vision we must keep before us when we encounter setbacks. Continuing to pursue the good will be good for us, good for others, and bring glory to God.
The Resolute Endurance of Clarence and Roberta
Clarence Keith and Roberta McMillan shared their experiences with each other through letters. Over time, they came to a conclusion.
They should go to the mission field—and they should go together as husband and wife.
About a year after their initial setback, they set off by boat for what was then Swaziland. They made the difficult journey to this landlocked nation and began a mission.
They carried sweet potatoes and biltong (a form of beef jerky) into the bush on long treks and shared the Gospel.
They raised children—eight of them, in fact. They milked cows and later had their children help milk them to provide milk for the family. They raised their own food. They ordered clothing patterns from the Sears catalogue and made clothes for their children.
Decades later, God called them to another mission in what was then Southern Rhodesia. God provided funds for a medical mission that is still operating today in what is now Zambia.
What if they had given up?
None of that good would have been done.
They could have enjoyed a comfortable life in America, no doubt. But the greater good would have remained undone.
I also would not be here, because they are my great-grandparents.
In 2014, I preached a sermon on legacy to more than 100 descendants and spouses of Clarence and Roberta.
That moment has remained a constant reminder: do not give up—even when life is hard, even when obstacles appear.
It is a living testimony to God’s promise: we shall reap, if we faint not.
Clarence and Roberta’s lives illustrate the importance of resolute endurance. But their story also reminds us that endurance does not stand alone. They had a vision of the good they wanted to accomplish, they found a way to pursue it, they organized their lives around it, and they persevered when their plans encountered obstacles.
All four virtues were at work.
That is the central point. These virtues are distinct, but they are not independent. We need each of them if we are going to live morally excellent lives.
Conclusion: Four Virtues Working Together
We began with the story of a brilliant man who was not morally excellent. His intellectual gifts did not make him a good person. In fact, he used them to tear other people down.
God changed him. He began to live differently, and the people who knew him could see it.
The Apostle Peter calls all believers to pursue this sort of transformation. We are to add virtue to our faith, and we are to supply the various virtues together so that they form a harmonious whole.
The four cardinal virtues help us understand how that moral excellence takes shape.
Virtue 1: Community-Mindedness. We seek the good of the communities around us. We think beyond ourselves and ask how we can help others flourish.
Virtue 2: Practical Wisdom. We seek to understand reality as it actually is and discern the best ways to accomplish the good we have in view.
Virtue 3: Deliberate Living. We organize our time, resources, habits, and choices around the greater good we want to accomplish.
Virtue 4: Resolute Endurance. We keep doing good in the face of obstacles, opposition, and suffering.
These are four distinct virtues, but they need one another.
Community-mindedness without wisdom can lead us to harm the very people we want to help. Wisdom without deliberate living may never translate into action. Deliberate living without a worthy goal may amount to little more than self-discipline for its own sake. And endurance without wisdom and a worthy goal can become mere stubbornness.
We need them all working together.
And we should remember that none of this is ultimately possible apart from the grace and power of God.
Peter tells us that His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness. We are becoming partakers of the divine nature. God is transforming us so that our lives increasingly reflect His own moral excellence.
That transformation does not eliminate our efforts. It enables them. We are called to pursue virtue diligently, but we do so with the confidence that God is at work in us.
So let us ask ourselves four questions:
- Community-Mindedness: What greater good could I pursue for the people and communities around me?
- Practical Wisdom: What is the best way to accomplish that good, given the people, resources, and circumstances that actually exist?
- Deliberate Living: How should I organize my time, resources, habits, and choices to pursue that good?
- Resolute Endurance: How can I keep doing good even when obstacles and opposition arise?
These questions help us move beyond merely avoiding what is wrong. They lead us to pursue what is good, to aim higher, and to become people who do far more good for the world around us.
That is the morally excellent life: a life of community-mindedness, practical wisdom, deliberate living, and resolute endurance, all working together through the power of God.
Let us seek to do as much good as we can for as many people as we can. Let us aim higher, act wisely, live deliberately, and keep going.
For we shall reap, if we faint not.
- Comfort and Convenience – Choosing effort, discipline, or discomfort to serve, grow, or lead rather than settling for ease.
- Personal Freedom – Laying down the right to do what you want so you can faithfully fulfill a calling, commitment, or relationship.
- Time for Self – Sacrificing leisure or personal projects to invest in people or responsibilities that matter more.
- Recognition and Credit – Yielding the desire to be noticed or praised so the team or mission succeeds.
- Wealth or Security – Giving generously or living simply so resources can advance a cause greater than personal comfort.
- Style and Taste – Willingly worship, sing, or study in ways that aren’t your favorite because they help others engage and unify the congregation.
- Control and Decision-Making – Supporting a direction or plan you wouldn’t have chosen so the group can move forward together rather than stall in disagreement.
- Social Comfort – Talking with or sitting near people outside your normal circle rather than gravitating to friends, so the fellowship feels genuinely shared.
- Schedule and Convenience – Adjusting your routine—attending at less convenient times, volunteering when needed—so ministries and gatherings thrive.
- Personal Expression – Holding back a strong opinion, preference, or criticism when voicing it would harm peace or discourage others, choosing unity over being right.