Diligence

December 2022 Character Core

Doing a task well often means that diligence, patience, and consistency were poured in to bring success. Diligence implies that there are difficult circumstances or seasons that led up to completion. Various individuals throughout history have endured extremely challenging circumstances to make their dreams a reality.

Such an individual is William Wilberforce. A member of the British Parliament elected in 1780, he was responsible for bringing an end to the slave trade in the British Empire. He believed he could bring about change quickly and smoothly. However, between 1789 and 1805, every single bill regarding the slave trade was rejected. A writer for Christianity Today states in a short biography that “[t]he pathway to abolition was blocked by vested interests, parliamentary filibustering, entrenched bigotry, international politics, slave unrest, personal sickness, and political fear.” Finally, in 1807, he succeeded. The slave trade was officially abolished. Slavery wasn’t abolished in practice for years yet. Quoting the biography, “Wilberforce’s health prevented him from leading the last charge, though he heard three days before he died that the final passage of the emancipation bill was ensured in committee.” William Wilberforce serves as an example of diligence through the discouragement and frustration of working toward a difficult goal.

“Patience and Diligence, like faith, remove mountains.” – William Penn