CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT I

PRINCIPLES OF SUCCESS Series 21

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT I

Character is the sum of moral and mental attributes that make up a person. A person’s character includes tf generally. Character is the picture of a person’s inner life.

Your character shows people who you really are, what you think and how you treat people. Your character paints the picture of what goes on inside you. Your character is who you are when no one is around, what you do when no one sees you. Your character is your fate, your life.

Character is the foundation of trust. It is the ground you provide for people to relate with you. If it is not solid, your relationships will sink. Character is the glue of relationships. If it is strong, good people will stick to you.

Character is everything. A man of God said, “When wealth is lost, nothing is lost. When health is lost, something is lost. When character is lost, all is lost.” Character is collateral. Your character is the greatest evidence of who you are. Character is the most important thing in this world. It is more important than great riches. It is more important than position, status and reputation. Character is more important than health. It is more important than talents, gifts, temperament and charisma.

Moral character is the foundation for ultimate success in life. Your character creates your influence, distinguishes your talents, builds your integrity, makes you a role model, and ultimately leads you to success in life. A person may climb the ladder of achievements but he is not successful until his achievements are built on solid moral character.

Therefore, developing character is the most important favor you can do to you. Developing character is making you fit to relate well with God and people. Developing character is becoming the best you can be, becoming successful in life and career.

God is the source of moral character. In the beginning God created man to share and manifest His character. The account says, “The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being.”

When his Maker breathed into man, He shared with man His life, His nature, His character. He packaged into man all he needed to manifest his Creator’s character and live like God on earth.

Moral character was deposited at the core of man’s spiritual being called the heart. This is not the same as the physical organ that pumps blood to all parts of the body. It is a spiritual entity, the heart of the soul, a fountain from which flow all issues in a person’s life. This heart is known by scientists as the subconscious mind.

Man lost his Maker’s character and his heart was corrupted. Afterward, everything about him flows out of a depraved heart. Depraved heart of man is the source of immoral character. Character development is a change from immoral character to moral character.

Qualities of moral character are qualities of the source. Myles Munroe says that moral character is stable, predictable and dependable.

1. Character is stable. A person of character is stable because his “heart is fixed.” One consequence of man’s loss of character is instability. Once a person’s character is formed it becomes fixed, set and stable. He’s not one thing today and another thing tomorrow.

A person of character is stable morally and emotionally. He’s emotion also becomes stable. Her feelings don’t change with time. She doesn’t change her convictions according to popular opinions. He stands strong on moral principles. She cannot be bought over because she doesn’t have a price. Myles Munroe illustrates the stability of character with some physical things that don’t change with time.

The sun is fixed and stable. It doesn’t change position. When you don’t see the sun from your position on earth, the sun is still there; it’s you who have moved as the earth moves away from the sun. Because it is fixed, the sun is used as a reference to fix positions on earth surface. Likewise moral character, because it is fixed and stable, it is the reference for acceptable behavior in a sane society. The sun changes times and seasons on earth but nothing changes it. So also, moral character influences people to change for better while it remains unchanging.

Lighthouse doesn’t change position. Ships bow to the lighthouse and steer as instructed. Any ship that disobeys the lighthouse does so to its own peril. Character, like the lighthouse, shines light to guide people and give moral instructions to keep people in the path of justice and equity.

Letters of the alphabet. In every language, letters of the alphabet are fixed and unchanging. Languages are dynamic but the letters retains their meaning. In English language for example, ‘a’ is always ‘a’. if anyone changed ‘a’ to ‘b’, then there would be loss of meaning. Like moral character, letters of the alphabet are fixed, and so they convey meaning and help people to communicate. That’s why they are called ‘characters’.

Concrete. When cement is mixed with sand, gravel and water to form concrete, it becomes useful for the purpose of building. It is then quickly put into a mold, because once it is set and fixed it cannot be changed into another mold. Character is like that – once it is hardened, it would have to be destroyed before another can be built.

Statues and Rocks are fixed, stable and unchanging. They are always there come rain or sun. Change in weather doesn’t change them. People’s opinion doesn’t influence them. If you want, get mad at them; your anger doesn’t change their ‘emotion’. Even if you throw pebbles at them, they will bear it and remain in their position. People’s opinions, emotions and dispositions don’t change a person of character. His character is formed, fixed and stable.

2. Character is predictable. Since a person of character is stable – fixed in his character – he is also predictable. People who are unstable in their ways are unpredictable. You never can tell how they will behave per time. They change like chameleon, taking the color of prevailing opinion in the environment.

To be predictable means to be consistently responsible and trustworthy. God is always consistent and predictable so we can trust him. When you’re predictable, people can expect you to behave in a particular manner in a given situation and be correct. A person of character is predictable to the point that his character can speak for him in his absence.

3. Character is dependable. Moral character is stable, predictable and therefore dependable. You can rely on a person of character since he’s always the same person. You can trust him to fulfill his promises. What he says he will do is what he does. Her yes is always yes, and her no is always no. Moral character makes you trustworthy. Trust comes out of test. Your character will be tested. If you cannot stand the test, people will not trust you.