YOUR CHARACTER COUNTS (PART 1)

PSALM 15
Success is a product of various efforts of man.
Everyone is trying to achieve something big, but we must realize that life is made up of little things. That is why your character counts; and in this segment we shall do a little X-Ray on character.
The character of a person, consists of all the qualities possessed distinguishing one from the others, positively or negatively.
The character of a person can be developed from traits acquired as a characteristics which reflects in the pattern of behaviour from adolescence.
Psychology, the science which classified and analyses the phenomena or varying states of human mind, gave us an insight that the character of a man had a lot to do with his mind rather that his looks, although, contradicting itself in Physiognomy that your face is considered to show your real character.
Glory be to God that science is a tool to assist human progress but not the end of our striving.
The Scriptures gave us an insight.
God told Prophet Samuel in I Samuel 16:7 “look not unto his countenance,…. height of his stature….. For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance; but The Lord looketh on the heart”.
Your character is you, for it speaks volume of whom you are, nothing so much distinguishes one man from another, than character.
We all differ in ability, opportunity, intellect, education and social status, which all had a contributory effect in our behaviourial pattern; however, the achievement of success in life depends so much on how reliable is your character in adversity.
Strong character stands firm like a rock amid the battering of the seas of misfortunes in life.
Character is a synthesis of all the other qualities, a working combination of all qualities of the personality, plus “guts” which must remain when the storm had passed, because adversity is the best test of character.
A man of good character will persevere and remain constant and steadfast to endure all through trials or tribulations, must be reliable under pressure like Job.
Job 13:15 says “though He slays me, yet will i trust Him, but I will maintain my own ways before Him”.
That is integrity, being firm and honest in moral values.
Even God attested to his uprightness (Job 1:8)
Perseverance comes before maturity, which could be summed of thus:
EXPERIENCE, PLUS ASSESSMENT, PLUS LEARNING.= CHARACTER.
We must understand that growth is not a product of age. Therefore, to assess character you must live with a man plus or minus what people say of him, minus what he says about himself and his achievements, Multiplied by what he does. That is character.
Beloved, We shall be assessing character on the platform of the Christian ethics not on the platform of a Purist or Moralist.
A moralist is someone who has strong ideas about right and wrong behaviors, and want others to conform.
A Purist wants all things done totally correct and unchanged.
However the Christian ethics emphasized on what God wants, doing unto others what you want others to do unto you.
Phillipians 4:8 says “whatsoever things that are true, whatsoever things that are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue (moral excellence, chastity, purity) if there be any praise, thinks on these things”.
The world will see character from the carnal mind as a product of conscience, but in Christian ethics it is a bye-product of Spiritual fruits as highlighted in Galatians 5:22-23 “but the fruit of The Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodliness, faith, meekness temperance”.
Jesus says in Matthew 7:15-18 “ye shall know them by their fruits…..” Remember a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can corrupt tree bring forth good fruit:
For our purpose, character denotes an integration of the personality, an added quality, which unifies all the others to the greatest effects: It is what is added to those who have made the most of all their other gifts and who have employed such gifts towards a specific purpose that will benefit themselves and their fellow men.
Beloved, character counts, to pave the road to success. .
(The Recreated Vessels)