The third practice of the five SemperVerus components is BE, which emphasizes the importance of intentionally reinforcing rectitude in yourself. It’s stated thusly:
III. Be: developing rich personal leadership character of exemplary moral and ethical quality.
In the following 3-minute video TED Talk, entrepreneur Derek Sivers presents lessons about leaders and followers he observed one day on a hillside of people:
In today’s world brimming with conflict, it’s not unusual to personally experience stress, grief, panic, even trauma.
The ministry Spiritual First Aid™ offers the free downloadable PDF resource, 14 Self-Aid Fact Sheets, which provide a quick reference overview of the following common everyday mental health challenges:
Saturday, April 19, 2025, was the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord of Wednesday, April 19, 1775, the first major military campaign of the American Revolutionary War.
[ Read the SemperVerus article, Important US Dates to Commemorate ]
The English government had ordered its British military forces to seize the American civilian colonists’ weapons and gunpowder being stored in Concord, Massachusetts. However, the colonists’ resolute resistance resulted in an American victory and an outpouring of support for liberty and independence.
[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of SELF-DEFENSE ]
The battles were fought on the American side primarily by privately armed militias and individuals bearing their personal firearms, an act so indelibly impressed upon the colonists’ consciousness that, 16 years later, after the war was won and the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified December 15, 1791, the individual right to keep and bear arms (today known as The Second Amendment) was definitively prioritized and protected from American government infringement; esteemed enough to be considered one of the top two fundamental and vital civil rights on which to build the great American nation.
How notoriously ironic that 250 years ago, Massachusetts as a colony preeminently prioritized the unalienable civil right to keep and bear arms, with its citizens making the ultimate sacrifice to protect that right, but today it is one of the worst states to infringe on that right!
How do you handle unexpected and prolonged difficulties in your life? With frustration? Anger? Despair? Doubting God’s oversight and sovereignty in your situation?
[ Read SemperVerus articles on the topic of SPIRITUAL FITNESS ]
Instead, take the SemperVerus way: Stay True to what is right and Stay True to your aim, trusting God with all your heart.
[ Read the SemperVerus article, Spiritual Fitness: Top 12 Acts for a Christian ]
What was scheduled to be an 8-day test flight of the Boeing Starliner capsule for US astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunni Williams turned into a 286-day test of endurance and conviction during an unexpected life-limiting stay in space aboard the International Space Station due to the capsule’s technical problems including helium leaks in its propulsion system and the failure of several reaction control system thrusters.
Wilmore, a devout Christian, leaned on his faith throughout the extended mission. He described his spiritual connection as “vital to existence,” emphasizing that knowing God was in control sustained him during the 9-month ordeal.