Every week it seems like we hear
about some well-known figure’s moral carelessness coming to light. An athlete’s
early morning brawl at an exclusive club. A politician’s scheme to enrich
himself. A pastor’s affair with a church member. A media personality twisting
the truth to further their storyline. A businessman’s complex effort to steal
from his company and its investors. (Image by rohatcom68 from Pixabay)
These types of unfortunate news stories we read about can be summed up with one word: character. Because people are not living lives of honorable character, they are winding up on the local news or in the local jail. Character matters. It has a practical impact on a person’s daily life, and sometimes we are even affected by the character of another person. The great preacher, Billy Graham, once said, “When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.”
Character refers to the moral traits of someone, like being honest, selfless, trustworthy and humble. Where do qualities like this come from? Our parents, teachers or coaches? Our dad and mom among others can teach us to have good character and model it for us, but it comes from a deeper source.
It is written, “God created man in his own image.” (Genesis 1:27) This means when the Creator fashioned us, He put within us some of His own likeness, which is where godly character comes from. The traits of love, kindness and patience originate from Him. However, because we are all born with a bent toward disobedience and selfishness, those traits are marred from birth. Sometimes they show up intermittently. We might love certain people, like our family or friends. We might be patient sometimes. But clearly, there are still large gaps in our character. And yes, we can be taught good character, but teaching and modeling does not go deep enough.
Having good character must focus on the
heart, for that is where it springs from. Jesus said, “For
out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality,
theft, false witness, slander.”
(Matthew 15:19) All these and more are reflections of poor character.
One might say, “It is my life. What I do in private,
or public is my business.” Another might state, “I’m a Christian. I
believe in God’s grace, and I know He forgives me no matter what I do.”
Despite our own thoughts about character, God has His thoughts also. One day
all of us will come before Him to be examined, “For we will all stand before the
judgment seat of God; for it is written, ‘As I live, says the
Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’ So,
then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Romans
14:10-12) If you were to come before God this very hour, what would He see?
How do we receive godly character? It begins through the
indwelling presence of the Spirit of Jesus. When you turn from your sin and
place your total trust in Christ, He comes to live within you and changes your
heart. Why? Because the curse of sin has damaged it and is the cause
of your moral failures. But Christ came from heaven to earth, to die, be buried
and rise again that your heart would be forever changed. In Christ, you become
a new creation, then His Spirit begins the life-long process of shaping and molding
you into a person that reflects godly character. For most people, this shaping comes
through tough times. The Scripture says, “we rejoice
in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” (Rom. 5:3-4)
Desire to be a man of integrity or a woman of
honor, who lives with a clear conscience, both before other people and God.
A prayer for you – Lord Jesus, examine our ways. Let
us be people who are trustworthy, dependable and humble. Create within us
hearts that reflect godly character. If we are found lacking, right now produce
that character within us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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