May it be your contribution that is the measure--the standard, if you will--that we value rather than what we receive in return for our efforts. As a young man, and throughout my time with my father, he would often tell me, “Butch, it’s not what you’ve done, but how you did it that makes ’cents’ to a man’s worth.” Though my father passed away nearly eighteen years ago, his sage advice resounds today. I’ve often said, “Life is not about what you’ve done but what you’re willing to do.” But what of fairness, and what about so-and-so, and the all too familiar, “I know this person who…and the inevitable, that’s just not fair?” At my age, I can confidently say that life is not based on fairness. Benchmarks have been made less strenuous, and envy, a powerful emotion, has often caused selflessness to shift from a state of altruism to one of ego. Still, looking inward to justify your actions and behaviors would be best. That is the objective measure of self-worth. Many of us want to be someone we are not, and others consider falsities as an expression of free speech. Yet, although they need not answer to others, they must ultimately answer to themselves. I guess they can do it the same way as an older person looking into the mirror without wearing their glasses to see someone they are not. I speak from experience on that note. The point here is simply what is right. Consider less what you receive, and reconsider what you are willing to give. Work harder, work longer, take on more burden, volunteer, and do much more than your share. Why, you may ask? Do so not for the desire of special recognition but because you are genuinely able and prayerfully willing because things need to be done.