When we say someone is a person of character, we mean he is true to his word, usually acting in a correct manner, seems to know right from wrong, and acts accordingly. When used in this way, having character is respectable.
When we say someone IS a character, we usually mean he is funny or a goof-off, and the descriptive can be positive or negative, but usually the latter.
We all want to be people of character. We want to do the right thing. We want to be true to our word. We want to be fair and intelligent in decision making. We want to be able to stand up for what is right even when its not popular. We want to be respected. Good leaders are people of character.
What if we are not always a person of character? Are we doomed to mediocre habits, decision making, and actions? Is it possible to sometimes be a person of character?
I want to believe that we can aspire to be people of character and in the process often fail. The person who succeeds more often is the person more likely to be judged to be a person of character.
I know that there have been many times when I have looked back on my actions and been less than pleased with myself. The question is then, do I learn from that? I believe that it is in being conscious of what we want to be, and in the striving to be that person, that we can “build” or move toward being more of a person of character than less. Being a person of character requires conscious thoughts and actions, until those ideas and behaviors are automatic and engrained in our subconscious and into our hearts.
The values instilled in our children through the experiences of scouting, or other activities that test their mettle, often help them to “build” character. The ways we respond to our life experiences, and the ways we engage in interactions with others, give us mile markers to judge our own behaviors and make modifications. When we fail to change our behaviors is when we fail to “build” our character.
The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 5:3-5 “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.” Paul believes we can learn character.
With the help of the Holy Spirit, may we be tested enough to become people of character, so that we may endure through our trials, shine as examples of God’s handiwork, and serve as leaders to others who are being tested so that they might have hope. Amen.
Do you struggle to be a person of character? Or has life challenged you sufficiently that you find being a person of character to be relatively easy?
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