Character
“,,,
we also glory in tribulations, knowing that
tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance,
character; and character, hope. Now hope does not
disappoint, because the love of God has been poured
out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given
to us. For when we were still without strength, in
due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans
5:3-6)
“Imprimis,”
a publication of Hillsdale College (Volume 20,
Number 9), reported that when Oscar Wilde made a
visit to the United States in 1882, he was asked by
customs officials if he had anything to declare. He
replied: "Only my genius."
Fifteen years later he was alone and broken in
prison, and he reflected on his life of waste and
excess. "I have been a
spendthrift of my genius...
I forgot that every
little action of the common day makes or unmakes
character." The theologian William Barclay
quoted Wilde in “Letters
to the Galatians and Ephesians,” page 100: “The
gods had given me almost everything. But I let
myself be lured into long spells of senseless and
sensual ease...
Tired of being on
the heights, I deliberately went to the depths in
search for new sensation. What the paradox was to me
in the sphere of thought, perversity became to me in
the sphere of passion. I grew careless of the lives
of others. I took pleasure where it pleased me, and
passed on. I forgot that every little action of the
common day makes or unmakes character, and that
therefore what one has done in the secret chamber,
one has some day to cry aloud from the house-top. I
ceased to be lord over myself. I was no longer the
captain of my soul, and did not know it. I allowed
pleasure to dominate me. I ended in horrible
disgrace.”
Charles Swindoll
quoted John Wooden, the famous UCLA basketball
coach: “Be more concerned
with your character than with your reputation. Your
character is what you really are while your
reputation is merely what others think you are.”
ChristianGlobe.com quoted the Oxford don, C. S.
Lewis: “What a man does
when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence
for what sort of man he is. If there are rats in a
cellar, you are most likely to see them if you go in
very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create
the rats; it only prevents them from hiding. In the
same way, the suddenness of the provocation does not
make me ill-tempered; it only shows me what an
ill-tempered man I am.”
We are what we
do. Solomon, who gave us much to think about, said
that “Even a child is known
by his deeds, by whether what he does is pure and
right” (Proverbs 20:11). We excuse behavior
in our children that probably should be corrected
early on, because the misdemeanors of childhood
become felonies in adults. Much like Solomon’s
comment that we are “known
by (our) deeds,”
Jesus warned us about “false
prophets” - we will “know
them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-16). Our
character will be revealed.
George Boose made
interesting observations about the Great Wall of
China, built through the labor of criminals and
slaves, just over 200 years before the birth of
Jesus. The wall is three stories high in places and
ambles for 1,600 miles through the hills of Northern
China, equal to the distance from Los Angeles to
Chicago, or Iceland to Poland. The Great Wall,
reports Mr. Boose, is the only man-made object on
earth that can easily be seen by astronauts in
orbit. Its purpose was to protect China from
barbaric Mongol horsemen and it was meant to be
impregnable. The Mongols got through anyway, but
they didn’t climb the Great Wall or break it down –
the Mongols got through by bribing the gatekeepers.
The bad character of just a few guards caused a
nation to fall.
Character. “Webster’s
New Collegiate Dictionary’s” definition of “character”
includes this meaning: “attributes
or features that make up and distinguish the
individual.” We’ve already read a quote from
C. S. Lewis, defining character as who you and I
really are when the light is suddenly turned on.
And God WILL turn on the light and shine it into our
lives. Not only do those around you like family
members have a right to know you, but each of us
must see ourselves, for we tend to deny who we
really are.
What does it mean
to be people of good character? - For one thing,
it’s caring for others!
In Philippians 2,
the Holy Spirit through Paul presents a concept so
alien to humanity that it is rarely understood. It
is – servant leadership. The idea is that a true
leader honestly and completely gives himself for
others. If you and I are leaders, then life is no
longer about you and me; it’s about those we serve.
The husband is to give himself to the fulfillment of
his wife and that is why many women reject the idea
of a husband as a leader – we’ve failed the test!
Paul presents Christ as the key example in verses 5
through 16, in that He gave everything for you and
me. Paul cited his companion Timothy in verses
19-24, stating that “you
know his proven character, that as a son with his
father he served with me…” (Philippians
2:22). Good character includes – service.
The Greek word for
“character” in that
verse is “dokimé”
which refers to the process of “proving” a person,
not unlike a scientific experiment which reveals who
or what we really are. That’s a form of the very
word used in our Scripture for today, where it is
found that “tribulation”
produces “dokimé,”
“perserverance,”
which is the elusive quality we call “patience.”
The very circumstances that people avoid (“tribulation”)
can lead to the good character needed by all.
People are drawn out of themselves when they’re in
trouble.
The natural
tendency of life is this: We lose our innocence and
grow to “maturity;” then confidence wanes through
the weakening of trouble and old age, ending in
bitterness. But notice from today’s Scripture that
when “tribulation”
occurs to the one who trusts in the Lord, character
is deepened, and we discover in the midst of seeming
disaster – incredible hope! We find the love given
through God’s Spirit growing in the strange soil of
difficulties, for He is pouring Himself into the
hearts of those who are willing to receive. The key
to true character, to life itself, is to see that
when we had no strength to believe, Christ died for
you and me! The good character you need is found in
Him.
The pride of Oscar
Wilde destroyed him. John Wooden, C. S. Lewis,
Solomon the King and others urge us to seek the Lord
and let God’s strong, but gentle character become
ours. Let’s trust in Him now:
Father, I’ve tried
being proud and it didn’t work out very well. I’ve
attempted life on my own, but it leads to
bitterness. I need You, Lord, I need Your Son.
Please fill me with Your Spirit and with Your love.
Let me hope in You. Make me the person YOU want me
to be. I praise Your Holy Name and receive You
now. In Jesus Name. Amen.
