The Four Pillars of Virtue
Brother Arinze Francisco
I was invited to an international gathering of people in the sales business held in the Leadership and Team Building Camp in the beautiful Chateu Royale, Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines last August. What I thought was just any other sales conference turned out to be something entirely different.
The gathering started (and ended) with an ecumenical opening prayer where Christians and other denominations prayed together. Even the official song acknowledged “abundance from above,” with the CEO, speakers and sharers all giving glory to God, the source of everything.
What was really surprising was the talk on how to develop the four pillars of virtue as a way of life for sales people.
The first pillar is GRATITUDE – how one has to be grateful for having been created with talents, having been given a family, and a life of abundance. It was also pointed out that not everyone enjoys such abundance because not everyone remembers to be grateful.
The second pillar is ABUNDANCE. God created everything first before man so that man will lack nothing as he lives in the world; all his needs were provided for by God. In fact, there is such a thing as superabundance if only man will give himself time to contemplate the good news of God and be grateful for everything.
The third and most important pillar is LOVE. God is love and His love is never ending. Even though man continues to sin, God’s forgiveness overflows. He is always waiting for us to go back to Him and ask pardon for our sins. Many times we miss the mark but He never fails to guide us back to the path He has already destined for us to take from the beginning of time. Glory to God!
The last the pillar is COMPASSION. As I listened to the speaker, I realized this is the virtue we should all embrace so that we may become our brothers’ keeper. God wants us to care for, love, and share with others. He does not want us to be individualistic, negative and selfish. He wants us to be like His Son Jesus, willing to sacrifice and love unconditionally (agape love). It is compassion that keeps alive those who are down and out. It is compassion and love that restore a person’s self-esteem.
Yes indeed, God was at the center of this uniquely different sales conference!