THe Measure of a Man

​The Measure of a Man
I heard a phase this morning that was totally out of left field. “The Measure of a Man.”  It got me wanting to know more about it.  So I looked up Wikipedia hoping to find something that talked about it and gave a history and current application.  I didn’t find that.  Instead it was full of references to movies.  I saw at least three.  There is a poem called “The Measure of a Man” and other things, but not what I was looking for.
There was however a quote by Martin Luther King Jnr. that I really like.  "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."  There was also reference to a quote by Samuel Johnson I like “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” 
I get off on quotes like that.  The first one by Martin Luther King Jnr. I reckon tells it like it is.  It is really easy to be the bees knees when all is going well.  I’ll take it for sure, but it is when things are tough, and I am having a bad day that what I am really like comes to the fore.  There are things that need to be dealt with.
How easy is it to love someone who loves me.  We may have disagreements, and all may not be rosy all the time, but I know when push comes to shove, they have my back and I have theirs.  On the other hand, there are those that do not have my back.  The only thing my back is good for is the stabbing.  To me it is at that point the measure of a man is determined.  Do I treat them the way they might be treating me, or do I love them anyway?  I reckon I am the only one who can answer that.  Besides how I answer is manifest in how I respond.  To me getting it wrong happens.  Getting it right eventually is what matters.
The other quote by Samuel Johnson I like too.  “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.”  It is way easy for me to get it wrong, but it seems there are some who come across my path who do not appear to have anything to add to me.  There was a comedy I saw one time where the comedy was in how obvious it was that someone was befriending others based on their influence.  People were being used only as a means to an end to get closest to the person who had the greatest influence.
I am for getting close to those who can add to me, but I am not for seeing people as a thing to be used.  To me, everyone matters.  The person with the least influence can, when nurtured, become the person of the greatest influence.
Everyone needs to be validated and acknowledged.  It may lead nowhere for me, but I am guaranteed to have a friend.  Maybe, just maybe, the measure of the man will be revealed when I need rescuing and they do it.