Of all the man-made spectacles in history, this is perhaps the most amazing. It was built for protection, and the people who spent literally hundreds of years to build it truly believed that once it was completed, it would be uncrackable. But it didn't quite work out that way. The spectacle which I am talking about is what we know today as the Great Wall of China.

The Great Wall of China was built mostly from about 1368 through 1644 A.D. and after it was finished, it stretched for over 1,500 miles - that's a distance of more than half way across the United States. And the amazing part of this feat is that they didn't have any bulldozers or tractors or steam shovels - all they had was hard labor. At one time they had as many as 1.8 million workers working full time on this wall. Many spent their entire life there - and died while working.

Now since the wall was built to keep their enemies out, it had to be unending with no gaps. It was built over mountains, through rivers, into deep valleys, through thick forests and blistering deserts. It was truly unbelievable.

Just how big was the wall? It was 25 feet high measuring about 30 feet wide at the base and about 12 feet wide at the top. That's wide enough for four men on horses to ride side by side. And not only did they build the wall, they built towers and huge gates. To keep the gates from being knocked down, they put up thick additional walls so that the gates could not be busted through. In some places they even dug moats around the gates - amazing!

Yes, it surely seemed like they had thought of everything. Surely they would be protected for a 1,000 years right? Wrong. According to all that I have read, when the wall was actually finished, the wall did not stop anyone from entering.

But why? The wall was tall enough, strong enough - Why did it fail? Because when the enemy came, believe it or not, all that they had to do was to bribe the guards - and the enemy just walked through.

So what's the moral to this week's story?

First, an observation. To have a successful military you certainly need guns and bombs and weapons. But the success of any military is not based on the weapons - it is based on the soldiers - men and women who are willing to fight and protect their land. How very fortunate we are today in America to have so many brave and loyal citizens who are serving - and we need to let them know that every day.

But the moral to the story?

Clearly this Chinese Empire spent hundreds of years building truly one of the greatest man-made wonders in the history of the world, with hundreds of millions of hours worked. But instead of spending all of their time building this great wall, instead they should have spent more time building the character and moral fiber of their people.

You see, the greatness of a nation is not defined by its buildings or its structures or its accomplishments. No, the greatness of a nation is defined by the great character of its people. Let us never forget that.

What are you doing to improve the character and moral fiber of our America?  

Jerry Stewart