iv / Character for Life Manual

About this Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

BUILDING A CHRISTIAN LIFE 1 Truth

Thomas Aquinas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 WisdomIsaac Newton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3 The Golden RuleHugo Grotius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

THE BEATITUDES 4 Dependence on God

Fanny Crosby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

5 Sorrow over SinDavid Brainerd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

6 Grateful and Submissive SpiritBlaise Pascal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

7 Hunger After RighteousnessSamuel Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

8 Forgive and Extend MercyAlexander Hamilton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

9 Loving God with a Pure HeartJonathan Edwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

10 Blessed Are the PeacemakersJohn Quincy Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

11 Persecuted for RighteousnessAbraham Lincoln . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

12 Walking in God’s TruthPatrick Henry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

13 Trusting God’s CharacterWilliam Penn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

14 Reverence for GodJohn Witherspoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

15 Seeking God’s Kingdom FirstBenjamin Rush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT 16 Compassion

William Wilberforce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

17 CourageJohn Winthrop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Table of Contents

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Introduction / v

18 FaithfulnessNoah Webster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

19 GoodnessJoseph Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

20 GraceGeorge Whitefield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

21 HolinessJohn Wesley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

22 HospitalityFlorence Nightingale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

23 HumilityJohn Marshall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

24 ImpartialityRichard Hooker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

25 IntegrityGeorge Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

26 Jealousy for God’s HonorCharles Finney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

27 JoyCharles Wesley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

28 JusticeSojourner Truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271

29 KindnessGeorge Washington Carver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

30 LoveCount Ludwig Von Zinzendorf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

31 PatienceGeorge Mason . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

32 RespectfulnessDaniel Webster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

33 ResponsibilityJohn Adams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

34 Self ControlRoger Sherman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

35 SelflessnessJohn Jay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

36 ThankfulnessWilliam Bradford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363

37 ZealJames Madison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373

Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-12

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-15

Char_chapUpfront-fn1c 7/28/05 10:35 AM Page v

Chapter 10 - John Quincy Adams / 87

10Chapter 10Blessed Are thePeacemakers–John Quincy AdamsPURPOSE: Finding What the World Longs For

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88 / Blessed Are the Peacemakers

10Character Trait:

BlessedAre thePeacemakersSUBJECT:JOHN QUINCY ADAMS(1767-1848)

PURPOSE: Finding What the World Longs For

FAMOUS QUOTE:“I pray heaven to bestow the bestof blessings on this house and allthat shall hereafter inhabit it. Maynone but honest and wise menever rule under this roof.”

SCRIPTURE DOCUMENTATION:“Blessed are the peacemakers, forthey will be called sons of God”(Matthew 5:9).

PERSONALITY PROFILE

John Quincy Adams was the firstbornson of strong-willed parents, John andAbigail Adams. His uncle was SamuelAdams and he grew up very muchaware of the injustice of the Englishtoward the colonies. Since his father wasone of the “Founders,” he was exposedto people like Thomas Jefferson andspent entire afternoons with the third

President talking about science, politics, and government. Whilehis father was on a diplomatic mission to France, Adams servedas his secretary (at the age of 11!). At 15, he was sent on adiplomatic apprenticeship to Russia.

Adams entered Harvard College in 1785 and had by then learnedfive or six foreign languages including Latin and Greek. Adamspursued formal education in the Netherlands, London, England,and Paris, France. On July 26, 1797, while in England on a diplo-matic mission, he married Louisa Catherine, daughter of JoshuaJohnson, who was of a Maryland family. He was thirty years oldand his wife was 22. Louisa was delicate and had continualhealth problems throughout their 50 years of marriage. After alot of hesitation, Adams began to take great delight in his mar-riage. He saw himself as fortunate and blessed since he was not,apparently, an easy person with whom to live. Louisa was similarto his mother, Abigal, in that she was intelligent, courageous,passionate, and deeply religious. Adams became depressed as hedealt with crisis in his family. After several miscarriages, however,a son, George Washington Adams, finally came into the world.

Adams was appointed Minister to Holland in 1794 and Prussiafrom 1797-1801. From 1803-1808 he served in theMassachusetts Senate. Adams was appointed Minister to Russiaby James Madison, which resulted in a strengthened relationshipwith Russia. He then became the Secretary of State underPresident Monroe. Some say he was the most successful secre-tary of state in American history. In 1824, John Quincy Adamsbecame president of the United States. He was known as anindependent, but was defeated by Andrew Jackson in 1828.He was the only President to go back to the House ofRepresentatives after having served. He reentered politics as acongressman in 1831. Adams wished to establish the UnitedStates as the foremost center for the studying of astronomy inthe world. In the Smithsonian Institution, his efforts were justified.

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Chapter 10–John Quincy Adams / 89

“The best

index to a

person’s

character is

how he treats

people who

can’t do him

any good and

how he treats

people who

can’t fight

back.” 3

Abigal Van Buren

As an independent, Adams sought to bring people together, butnot at the expense of his principles. As Secretary of State he wasinvolved in mediations between European nations. Like his father,John Quincy Adams, he was a scholar. His leadership was charac-terized by earnest preparation of both heart and head. He had adeep devotional life and was disciplined in his study of Scripture.

While in St. Petersburg, Russia, Adams was aware of Moscowsurrendering to Napoleon and grieved with the Russian people asthe city went up in flames. At the same time, he lost his son andsaid, “I mourned over the fallen city, and even its fallen con-querors, because I was a man and a Christian, but their fatewould neither sharpen nor mitigate my private woe.” 1

The Last Puritan?President Washington stated, “He (John Quincy Adams) is

the most valuable public character we have abroad, and thereremains no doubt in my mind he will prove himself to be theablest of all our diplomatic corp.” 2 Twentieth century biogra-phers have had the advantage of looking at the whole life ofJohn Quincy Adams. “Those who knew him only fleetinglymight have been tempted to write him off as an irascible, anti-social Yankee, but the truth about John Quincy Adams ranmuch deeper; he was one of the most moral statesmen Americaever produced. Historians hesitate to apply the word Puritan tohim, as the Puritans had long since passed from the NewEngland scene. Yet, in a profound sense, Adams properlydeserves to be called ‘the last Puritan.’ “He owed his influence,not to his manner, presence or pleasing tones, but to the factthat what he said was worth hearing.” 4

Adams expressed the view that “America goes not abroad insearch of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the free-dom and independence of all.” 5 As President, Adams was cer-tainly not political but made appointments based on who hethought was the most qualified person and not an individual’spolitical affiliations. There were other qualifications of course,and many believed that an atheist or a deist (someone whodoes not recognize the Deity of Christ) was not qualified tolead the nation. Adams stated, “A man, to be a Christian, mustbelieve in God, in the Bible, in the Divinity of the Savior’smission, and in a future state of rewards and punishments.” 6

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Adams was convinced that, “The highest glory of theAmerican Revolution was that it connected in one indissolublebond the principles of civil government with the principles ofChristianity. Human legislators can undertake only to prescribethe actions of men; they acknowledge their inability to governand direct the sentiments of the heart.” 7

Adams believed that mediocrity was one of the worst sins.He put unbelievable pressure on his three sons, and they failedto excel at Harvard. His first son, George Washington Adams,was not up to the pressure. His father was horrified whenGeorge finished 13th in his class and his brother John finished45th in a class of 85. Imagine naming your son after the firstPresident and expecting him to perform up to the Adams’expectations! George was told that he must be in the top ten inhis class to be able to visit his family in Washington, D.C. Thepressure on young George, a hyperactive student, apparently,was too much to bear. He eventually was dismissed fromHarvard and denied his degree. He lost his life in a swimmingaccident and it may have been suicidal. His father had been anabsentee parent for many years and they drifted apart. Adamsfinally realized that he had pushed his son harder than youngGeorge could possibly sustain. Adams was grief stricken… “Ihave nothing left to rely on but the mercy of God,” 9 he con-cluded.

ADAMS VIEW OF THE BIBLEAt an oration delivered at Plymouth, December 22, 1802,

at the Anniversary of America’s ancestors at that place, Adamsspoke of the history and future of America. “Among the senti-ments of most powerful operation upon the human heart andmost highly honorable to the human character, are those ofveneration for our ancestors, and of love for our posterity,” 10

he said.“It is of all books in the world, that which contributes to

making men good, wise and happy.” 11 From the Bible, Adamslearned that God’s justice was for all men. Each year, however,his efforts in the House of Representatives to bring an end toslavery were met with resistance.

“Man was not made for himself alone. No, he was made forhis country, for his species, for all ages past and for all futuretimes. He is not a puny insect shivering at a breeze, but theglory of creation.” 12 Adams concluded the message with thewords, “Think of your forefathers and of your posterity!” Onleaving the presidency, he said, “I pray heaven to bestow the

90 / Blessed Are the Peacemakers

“He (John Quincy

Adams) is the most

valuable public

character we have

abroad, and there

remains no doubt in

my mind he will prove

himself to be the ablest

of all our diplomatic

corp.” 8

George Washington

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