ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

What Makes A Person Great

Updated on September 3, 2011

"Be not afraid of greatness; some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them." William Shakespeare

 

We each strive to achieve some measure of greatness in this life. And why shouldn't we? We have unlimited potential for greatness, each one of us, because of our extensive pedigree. We are children of God, with the potential to become like Him. Realizing this makes us understand that with Him, nothing is impossible and greatness is within reach. We are taught to strive for perfection and even instructed in the fifth chapter of Matthew, verse 48:

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Still, we wonder what makes a person great.

 

American Idol.
American Idol.
Hogan Knows Best.
Hogan Knows Best.

The Worlds Standard of Measurement

 

We live in a world that seems to worship its own kind of greatness and produce its own kind of heroes. Popular television shows like American Idol, Hogan Knows Best, The Bachelor, and reality television shows that are anything but reality, capitalize on this exact thing. Oprah Winfrey needs only mention a product on her "Favorite Things" list and the sales skyrocket. Athletes' are paid exorbitant amounts of money while teachers struggle on fixed income schedules. We have video games like Guitar Hero and Worlds of War Craft, where one becomes a "hero" by beating the game. It makes one wonder at our standard of measurement when it comes to greatness.

Unfair Comparisons

"It's true that most of the world's heroes don't last very long in the public mind; but, nevertheless, there is never a lack of champions and great achievers. We hear almost daily of athletes breaking records; scientists inventing marvelous new devices, machines, and processes; and doctors saving lives in new ways. We are constantly being exposed to exceptionally gifted musicians and entertainers and to unusually talented artists, architects, and builders. Magazines, billboards, and television commercials bombard us with pictures of individuals with perfect teeth and flawless features, wearing stylish clothes, and doing whatever it is that "successful" people do.

Because we are being constantly exposed to the world's definition of greatness, it is understandable that we might make comparisons between what we are and what others are-or seem to be-and also between what we have and what others have. Although it is true that making comparisons can be beneficial and may motivate us to accomplish much good and to improve our lives, yet we often allow unfair and improper comparisons to destroy our happiness when they cause us to feel unfulfilled or inadequate or unsuccessful. Sometimes, because of these feelings, we are led into error and dwell on our failures while ignoring aspects of our lives that may contain elements of true greatness." (Howard W. Hunter)

Unnoticed Acts

Simply giving consistent effort in the little things in day-to-day life leads to true greatness. Little deeds of kindness and tasks of service or sacrifice given for another is another true quality of greatness. The sacrifice it takes to be a loving parent, a true friend, and a faithful companion are also marks of true greatness. Loving the Lord with all your heart, might, mind and soul and striving to help others find his love is an act of greatness. These things do not usually receive the attention or the adulation of the world, but the Lord who sees all fixes the reward.

Matthew 6

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Remember Who We Are

"To do one's best in the face of the commonplace struggles of life-and possibly in the face of failure-and to continue to endure and to persevere in the ongoing difficulties of life when those struggles and tasks contribute to others' progress and happiness and one's own eternal salvation-this is true greatness." (Howard W. Hunter)

There is a part in all of us that wants to achieve a measure of greatness in this life that is how we are made. There are many people who have already achieved great things and have made great accomplishments. These accomplishments have given us many opportunities for entertainment, culture, progress and excitement in our lives. In no way do I mean to diminish their worth, for in the correct light these are great achievements.

We should be encouraged to reach our potential and become the best we can, but we must always remember who we are. We must focus more clearly on the things of life that are of the greatest worth. Worldly greatness, that is most of the time just temporary fame, can at times pull at us and tempt us to compromise our standards. We have seen individuals who have become successful and wealthy as if overnight, but true greatness only is achieved by persistence and long suffering. There is no such thing as instant greatness; true lasting greatness is a long-term process, with occasional setbacks. It is a consistent path of small, sometimes ordinary or mundane steps over a long period of time.

“Frequently it is the commonplace tasks we perform that have the greatest positive effect on the lives of others."

Serving others.
Serving others.

Forgotten Heroes

There are many forgotten heroes among all of us. People who consistently do things they ought to be doing. These are everyday people who are reliable, honest, diligent, and committed. These are fathers who do not shirk their responsibilities to their families. These are mothers who spend long hours investing in the future of their children. These are people who are hard working in their daily tasks, but who also serve their God by serving others. These are the Shepherds true sheep.

Thus, true greatness is never a result of just chance; greatness requires the development of character. It is a result of correct decisions made in everyday choices between good and evil that ultimately shows clearly what we are made of, what we truly value, and who we really are. In evaluating our lives, we need to not only look at what we have achieved but how we achieved it. We each have different conditions in our lives we live under, we are each different and unique. We have different starting points in life with different levels of opportunity, skills, talents, challenges and constraints. It is what we do with what we are given, and the positive effect that we can have on others that truly shows greatness. It is this aspect that can help us to understand why some of the simple, common, ordinary work of life should be valued so highly.

For me true greatness is summed up in the words of the Master himself when he said:

Matthew 20

25 ... Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;

27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Yes, this is true greatness.

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. ~ Mark Twain

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)