A Man of Integrity

            I’ve been writing about my grandfather, Rev. Joseph Nadenicek.  I mentioned last time that he was an avid reader as well as a writer.  What I don’t think I mentioned in that regard is his love of poetry.

            My grandfather loved poetry.  His eulogy says that he read the most accomplished poets of his time.  He also wrote poetry.  His eulogy also says that was very particular about his poetry.  If anyone wanted to use his poetry, he insisted they use it exactly as he wrote it, with all words and phrases unchanged.  He often used poetry in his sermons as well.

            I’ve been trying to see what similarities there are between my grandfather and me.  I don’t write poetry, although I married a woman who does.  I write songs sometimes, which I suppose is a form of poetry.  I can certainly understand my grandfather’s desire to keep his creations exactly as he had created them.

           

            I’ve been trying to say “his eulogy says” in regard to what I’m learning about my grandfather because one of the things his eulogy says is that my grandfather hated plagiarism.  In addition to reading a lot, he apparently had an incredible memory, because he could frequently spot when someone had stolen something.  His eulogy says he would write letters to editors of newspapers to point out examples of plagiarism he saw there.  In fact, it says “he enjoyed being able to expose critics and high officials on their literary errors.”

            I suspect the reason he was so strong on the subject of plagiarism has to do with his personal life.  He is described as a man of complete openness, honesty, and integrity.  It’s a eulogy, of course, and the author is hardly going to say bad things about him, but I don’t doubt that it is true.

            He was considered a “liberal” pastor in his day.  He was very much opposed to narrow-mindedness and intolerance.  He supported changes in the Slovak hymnal, especially those changes that would make it easier to understand.  He wanted the people in his congregation to be able to read and understand and think for themselves.  His eulogy says that he “wanted them to be able to discuss the doctrines of the reformation in a knowledgeable way.  He wanted them to see the truth, and to know God personally as he, himself, did.”

            While he had opinions, though, he was also willing to compromise.  He had a strong concern for church unity.  He would defend his positions if he was convinced he was right, but he “always looked for and tried to understand opposing views”, and was not afraid to change his mind if he was convinced of a better plan.

            That willingness to compromise had its limits.  He was fully convinced that evil exists, and that Christians need to be able to recognize it so we can deal with it when confronted with it.  His eulogy also says that his integrity “would not allow him to compromise with sin and godlessness.”

            In regard to those personal qualities, I’ll leave it to others to say how much I resemble them.  They are an inspiration to me, though.  Openness, honesty, and integrity are qualities we should all strive for.  We all need to find a way to fight narrow-minded intolerance without compromising with sin.  We all need to read and understand and think for ourselves, so we can know God personally.

            We all have times when we tend to back-slide from being the people we should be.  I hope my grandfather can inspire me not to do that, but instead be the person I should be.