Character Study

I mentioned finding out what the world needs in my last post. I've had a little more time to think through what that means and how I can quench this desire to fulfill the specific need I am thinking of.

Without giving much away regarding what has been rolling around in my brain like a bowl full of marbles, one of the things I've been thinking about is character or the lack thereof in our society today. When I say character, what do I mean? The Google definition is "The mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual." I understand this definition, but I think there is more to it than just the qualities each person has.

I am doing a study (bit by bit) of Os Guinness' book, When No One Sees. I have just begun to read it, but the title alone makes one think about the concept as a whole. What do we do when we think no one is watching? How do we act? What do we say, think? Are we aware of a wrong we might be committing even though our minds tell us "No one will ever know"? In a biblical sense, we do know right from wrong and I'm sure Guinness will touch on that fact in later chapters. Each one of us has a moral compass inside that essentially pricks our souls when we do the right or wrong thing. There have been (and still are) moments in my life when I think I can get away with something because no one might be watching, but the guilt I feel after having done the wrong thing is excruciating.

That guilt has been so bad in the past that it has bled over into my actions when I know I am being watched. I would rather do the right thing, no matter how hard, because then I can be free of the guilt that comes with choosing the wrong thing. Going left when you should be going right will haunt a person. I lie awake at night sometimes worried about what I've done and whether or not anyone will ever know or tell someone else, and that exposure is horrible to think about.

I know this sounds like I am saying I do the right thing at all times, no matter what, but I don't. Sometimes I choose wrong. Sometimes I hurt others with my words, actions, and even my thoughts. In hurting them, I hurt myself and ultimately I grieve the heart of God. Going my own way never works out. Never.

When I bring this subject up or tell someone "Hey, that's wrong and you shouldn't go that way," they tell me I am "preaching at them." It might sound like that, and to them it does. But here's the hard thing: what if I'm right? I won't give the details of when someone told me that and whatever issue they were dealing with at the time, but when they eventually took that road, it hurt them. I don't know all the answers, but I do know what choosing the wrong path does to a person and how the guilt will cripple you.

Character matters. It matters that we choose the right thing even when we know it is the highest mountain to climb when we want to go downhill, into the valley of ease. If you take the more difficult road that leads to a life of fulfillment and freedom from guilt, you will reap the benefits. It's hard to choose this because most of the time we feel pressure from friends, family, society, and so many other places. But doing the right thing makes us more spiritually healthy in the long run.

I'm not talking about taking a yoga class to cleanse your mind and body, or making the "right" choice to eat well or do a mindfulness exercise every morning upon waking up. I'm talking about not talking about someone behind their back (Me = guilty), stealing what isn't yours, coveting someone else's possessions or a person that belongs to them, having rude or condemning thoughts about another person even though you might never speak them out loud.

You can't make the choice to live a good life on your own, because none of our human efforts will ever live up to the standard of what is good. Only surrendering your every thought and action to the lordship of Jesus can you do this. Call me preachy, but this is the ultimate truth. People have tried since the dawn of time to get around this, to sweep it under the rug, to make believe it isn't there. But none of them worked. The difficulty lies within our sinful selves. No one is righteous, not one. So no one can make it to the Father on his or her own. We need Jesus to cover us so we can approach God and ask for his help in the matter.

As I can, I will continue the study of When No One Sees and update then. Character is such a big issue in our world today, and with the fall of character (the moral bearings that only God gives) we will continue to fall too. In the meantime, I will try to be mindful of what I am thinking, doing, and saying when no one is around, and also build my godly character by studying the Bible on a regular basis and agreeing with everything it says, because it is only there that we can find the answer to this question of character.