CHARACTER

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“A man’s character is his fate.”  Heraclitus, 540-480 BC

“To enjoy the things we ought and to hate the things we ought has the greatest bearing on excellence of character.”  Aristotle, 384-322 BC

“Character is much easier kept than recovered.”  Thomas Paine 1737-1809

“One can acquire everything in solitude -- except character.”  Stendhal, 1783-1842

“Sow a thought, and you reap an act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.”  Anonymous

Man has examined the issue of character for as long as we have records of his thoughts. Until recent years, character was considered an attribute. It was a virtue to which most people aspired. In the last 30 years, we have seen the emphasis on and aspiration to character gradually erode.

Now there is an organized effort to re-introduce character qualities into the curriculum of public schools. Don Feder recently wrote on this topic in the editorial page of the Daily Oklahoman.

In the 1992 presidential election, the American public was told that character wasn’t important. Evidently the voters agreed, and we have watched the integrity of the presidency unravel. As we approach the 2000 election, character has already been brought to the forefront.

Is character a valid topic to consider today? Is character for a Christian different than for other people? What does character mean? What are character qualities? How are these qualities developed in a person’s life? These are all questions I will attempt to examine in the coming months.

Webster defines character as “moral excellence and firmness.” Character means rising above the average to a point of excellence in moral qualities. It means not just rising to that point on occasion but to maintain that moral excellence in a firmness of conviction.

The Bible does not define character as much as it describes it. I believe moral character is that part of God, which He put in us at creation through the Spirit. That part which makes us like Him as He described when He said that we were made in His image. At creation man was a reflection of God’s character. At the fall that reflection of character became distorted.

The character of God can be restored in our life, but it isn’t accomplished by trying harder or striving. It happens as the Spirit of God comes to live in us at our salvation and as we surrender our desires to Him. I believe that character for the Christian means to be like Christ.

In fact, that is the goal of the Christian life. “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.” (Romans 8:29a) The word “conformed” in that sentence means that it happens from the inside to the outside. It is an inner transformation, which will eventually manifest itself in our behavior. It is not a life of striving to do better, to be better. It is a life which allows Christ to live through us as we focus on Him. (Galatians 2:20)

“But we all, with unveiled faces beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (II Corinthians 3:18)

We develop Christ-like character as we behold the glory of the Lord. He transforms us into His likeness from the inside out. He does it because He loves us, not because of something we achieved, or how good we are. It is a result of....

God’s Grace, My Surrender.