The Content of Our Character

 

Many words have been written by and about the subject of today’s holiday so far be it for me to think I can break new ground with any of my musings. I do want to reflect a bit on this turn of phrase Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is famous for, “the content of our character,” which has been simultaneously lauded and misinterpreted in contemporary discourse. But I want to take the discussion in perhaps a different direction, which is to consider how Dr. King’s character ought to inspire ours. 

Whether famous or infamous, Dr. King’s short life left a legacy that continues to inspire and challenge to this day, almost 50 years after his passing. There is so much one could say about his life, and I am neither here to saint him or condemn him. He was clearly a complex man: inspired, grounded, flawed, fearless, loved, hated. 

Character, in my mind, is when what we believe in the depth of our souls is courageously reconciled with what we are willing to say out loud and practice in our lives, even and especially when doing so engenders suspicion, hate, opposition, and violence. Dr. King of course paid the ultimate price for his convictions, and prior to his being murdered in Memphis was targeted, reviled, and threatened.

Dr. King believed that what he believed and was trying to do was just and was worth bearing a high personal cost to see through. He believed that he was ultimately right, but that while “the arc of the moral universe” ultimately “bends toward justice,” it does so only when faithful women and men are willing to take action to that end. And he was willing to be one of those faithful ones, and to inspire and lead other faithful ones. 

Dr. King’s work clearly continues to this day. As does the ability for his life to inspire us to take on that work. His strong convictions, spoken out loud and lived out courageously, are an inspiration to so many of us who long for justice to be done, inspiration that is sorely needed to count the cost to help see it through.