Character

Hey there! I feeling very blessed today and I'm glad to have the opportunity to share with you guys. Today's selection is taken from a book given to me by my home church at the end of the summer. Character, that is, who we are is so essential, and I don't think that we spend enough time thinking about who we really are, especially when we think that no one's around to see us. Why are there those things that we feel driven to do when no one's around? If we're inclined to do something that we're ashamed to in front of our friends, perhaps it's time to re-evaluate. As Christians, we should be living our lives in a godly manner all the time. We can not serve two masters (matthew 6:24), and that's exactly what we try to do when we have two personalities.

I think these guys do a much better job touching on the matter, so enjoy! Have a blessed week-- Remember that you've always got a friend like none other in Jesus . Much love to all of you.

-AMR

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Chapter 11: Character: What Happens When No One's Looking
from 'God is in the Small Stuff,' graduates edition, by Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz

May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you.
(Psalms 25:21)

One of the great debates of the last few years has centered on character. Some people believe that it's possible for a person to possess both a public and a private character, even if the two are very different. What you do in private, the reasoning goes, is your own business, as long as it doesn't affect your public performance. There's only one problem with this thinking. Once you divide your personality and your actions into two or more categories or compartments, you deviate from the very definition of character. At its root, character is defined by integrity, and at the heart of integrity is the idea of wholeness. If an object (such as a bridge) or a person (such as you) has integrity, it means that the object or person is in an unbroken condition. Therefore, if your character-- which defines who you are-- is broken into two or more pieces, you no longer have integrity. And without integrity, you don't have much character.

Remember the movie Titanic? One of the primary reasons the big boat was considered unsinkable was because of the compartments in its hull. The theory was that flooding in one compartment due to a breach in the hull wouldn't affect other compartments because of the high walls between them. What the Titanic's designers did not anticipate was that the collision with the ice berg slashed through several compartments at once, so that the sea water spilled over the walls from one compartment to another until the mighty ship tragically sank.

The same thing applies to life. You think you can keep a break in one part of your life from impacting the other parts, but it just doesn't work that way. An integrity breach in one compartment of your life quickly spills over to another until your entire life begins to sink.

So how do you keep your life from flooding? It all has to do with integrity. Keeping your life together. Living your life in private the way you do in public, and vice versa. When you live your life as a whole rather than in parts, you can handle breaks (and you will have them) because there are caring people around who will help you repair the damage-- if they know about it.

One of the best ways to keep your life whole is to pay attention to the small stuff. Do what it takes every day to develop your character and preserve your integrity. Most of all don't live your life to please others. Live your life to please God.