Charlemagne
or Charles the Great was the King of the Franks who was considered one of the
building blocks of Christianity. He was the son of King Pepin where at the
beginning he was initially a co-ruler with his brother Carloman. Later Carloman,
wanting to possess the whole kingdom, declared war against Charlemagne where
Carloman lost the war and Charlemagne was given control of the whole kingdom.
Thereafter, Charlemagne wanted to return Carloman’s kingdom to his family who
fled to the Lombard for protection; however, his action was misinterpreted by
the Lombard and they declared war toward the Frank and Charlemagne. The war was
gain won by Charlemagne allowing his kingdom to expand. To help the western
kingdoms from the invasion of the moors, the Pope request help from Charlemagne;
Charlemagne fought 53 battles and always won as the defensive site. Beside his
military achievements, he also made many contributions toward the culture,
especially in the area of justice, education, and church. Knowing his
greatness, it’s surprising that Charlemagne was an illiterate person. From
Charlemagne we can learn that what make him great should not be his skill, but
the righteousness and virtue in his heart. One of the clear instances of
Charlemagne’s righteous heart is when he was misinterpreted while visiting the
Lombard with a good purpose.
In
the world today, people tend to focus more on developing their knowledge and
skill while neglecting their heart from the right principles and values. We can
see that many schools prioritize academics and neglect the character building;
therefore, many people today was not able to become someone great like
Charlemagne who make changes in his culture and leave a legacy for the next
generation. The people who only focus on building their knowledge will only
accomplish things for their own benefit and made no difference to others.
People
should be able to understand that knowledge means nothing without the right
principle of truth. The purpose of many people for education is to have change
in their minds; however, many of them do not realize that changes come from
within. It is important for the schools to also prioritize character building
beside the academics so that the students may develop within. With the
righteous heart and a trust in God’s purpose, the people will be able to make a
change or an impact to the world and leave a legacy to the next generation.
Before
I enter MSA, I have the wrong mindset just like many people that what is what
is important for education is only the academics and grades; I never think
about the moral values or character building at all. There is one time when I’m
hearing a lecture in the church about the purpose of life, I started thinking that
life is so meaningless; furthermore, I also think how everything that I will build
in my life such as my study and my future life are all nothing when I pass
away. Soon, I realize that I should leave a legacy so that what I have built in
my life was not wasted, but I still do not know how to leave such legacy. After
I enter MSA, I understand that I should not only live and use my knowledge for
my own benefit, but also for other people so that I may make a change in other
people or maybe impact the next generation leaving a legacy; therefore, to be
able to make a change in other people, I should first change myself from within
since changes comes from within. I’m very grateful to God that I’m able to
study in a school that also prioritizes the character building so that I may
also build a righteous heart.
As a
conclusion, Charlemagne has shown us how he was able to leave a legacy by
making impacts to the cultures although he was illiterate, but what enables
Charlemagne to make such impact is his righteous heart. The righteous heart is
important such that we will use our knowledge in the right way and that God
will also help us throughout our life. In the modern education, the school
tends to focus only on the academics and neglecting the character buildings
without realizing the importance of the righteous heart. A school should have a
balance between the academics and the character building so that students may
use the knowledge that they study in the righteous way. Thomas Jefferson, the
third president of the United States, says that nothing can stop the man with
the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help
the man with the wrong mental attitude.