In his excellent little book, The Strength of Character, (Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, 2007) Charles R. Swindoll offers seven marks of godly character. Here they are:

 

"Courage...Self-Control... Honesty...Determination...Usefulness...Hope...Sincerity"

 

He doesn't say, "Here they are: Seven Habits of Highly Successful People." (Somebody else owns the copyright on that one). And he doesn't say, "Here they are: Seven Choices. Take Your Pick." He says, "Here they are: Seven Essential Traits of a Remarkable Life." I think Swindoll is saying to the reader: "You can become a remarkable person by allowing God to develop these qualities in your life." I think he is saying, "This is not a multiple-choice exercise, unless one of the options is 'All of the above.'" I think Swindoll is inviting us to join him in the journey of letting God mold our character after the character of Jesus.

 

Swindoll quotes Paul W. Powell, who said, "God is more concerned about our character than our comfort. His goal is not to pamper us physically but to perfect us spiritually."

 

The topic of this week's essay is "Character Building." It is simply a discussion on how we build character. To do it right requires a book. So, let me do this: I'll get the discussion started. You write the book—based on your own experience in character building. I'll even give you permission to use the attachment as the introduction to your book. Or, if you are a preacher or teacher, take these seven traits of a godly life and build a sermon series on the subject. A good text with which to begin the series can be found in 2 Peter 1:5-7.

 

The week lies before you. Read on. Read it through. Then pray this prayer:

 

Heavenly Father, I believe that it is no accident that I opened this "Tuesday Morning" to read now. You knew I would be reading it today, and I believe you know what I need to do to make my life more Christ-like. You know my strengths and weaknesses. You know which of these seven marks of a godly person are already at work in my life, and you know which ones I have allowed to become dormant. I am confident that you want to perfect me spiritually, and I invite you to begin doing that now. Don't pamper me. Instead, challenge me. Point me in the direction I need to take. I am listening. I am ready to begin now. Amen.

 

Tom Barnard

A Senior Encourager 

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Character Building

Tom Barnard

 

ave you ever come across a great quote and said to yourself, “I wish I had said that”? I say that a lot these days. And now—thanks to search engines like Google.com—we can pinpoint the people to whom certain quotes have been attributed. Here is one frequently-quoted saying:

 

“Sow a thought…reap an act;

Sow an act…reap a habit;

Sow a habit…reap a character;

        Sow a character…reap a destiny.”

 

I found the names of fourteen people who have either claimed the quote as their own or have attributed it to others. Someone even suggested that it is a Buddhist proverb. One thing is for certain: It is true. Character is directly related to destiny. The apostle said, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7, 8)

 

Another has paraphrased it this way:  “We should watch our thoughts, for they will become words; and we should watch our words, for they will become actions; and we should watch our actions, for they will become habits; and we should watch our habits, for they will become character; and we should watch our character, for it becomes our destiny.” What is the bottom line to all of this? Character is destiny.

 

How can character be defined?

• Character is who we are, not what we wish we could be. Character can be measured by what we read…what we access on the Internet…what we do when no one is around…what we think about when everything around us is quiet…even in the way we express our thoughts to others.
• “Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow.” (Abraham Lincoln said this.) Rarely are character and reputation exactly alike, even though there is a resemblance. Reputation is what other people think we are; character is what we really are—as only God knows us to be.
• Character determines the direction we take in life. Someone has said, “What a man’s mind can create, man’s character can control.” Character is the compass that gives direction to our decisions.
• Character is ongoing. American educator and philosopher Horace Greeley said, “Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wing, and only character endures.”
• Character is shaped by the choices we make and the problems we overcome. Helen Keller, the woman activist who was blind and deaf for most of her life, said, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”

 

The late Madame Chiang Kai-shek, once China’s most powerful woman, observed that character is like the markings on wood that are ingrained in the heart of a tree. She said, “Character cannot be counterfeited, nor can it be put on and cast off as if it were a garment to meet the whim of the moment.”

 

National elections tend to reveal the best and worst of those competing for office—and for those who defend and support them. Rather than being “character-building” times, these months seem to be filled with “character-assassination” activities. Perhaps we should take notice of the words of St. Paul: “The one who sows (words and actions) to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” After all, that is the final destiny the children of God should be seeking.

 

Note: The quote by Madame Chiang Kai-shek is from A New Treasury of Words to Live By, edited by William Nichols. (Simon and Schuster, Inc. New York City, 1959, p. 15). Other quotes in this essay were found on the Internet, posted by Google.com.