CHARACTER: MAN GREATEST ASSET

 

A man’s character is his fate.

Heraclitus Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, once said:

"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental

attitude."

As a clergyman, I have watched, with great pity, how people self-sabotage by seeking spiritual solutions to character-deficit issues. They look around at everyone as suspects for their predicaments when their greatest demons lurk within them their character.

What we often call destiny is truly our character, and since character can change, destiny can be altered. Character is destiny.

IS PRAYER ACTUALLY EVERYTHING?

Many would argue back and forth on this question. However, my purpose in writing this piece is not to engage in arguments.

Arguments don’t improve the validity of a truth; they only determine how long it will take before you realize it.

Most people believe that prayer alone will lead them to success and that they can get away with anything if they stick to certain prayer routines. But there is no amount of spiritual penance that can substitute for character.

Sometimes, what you need is character, not prayer.

Dutch Sheets said: “Prayer is not a check request asking for things from God; it is a deposit slip a way of depositing God’s character into our bankrupt souls."

 

British writer and politician Thomas Macaulay (1800-1859) also stated: "The measure of a man’s character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out."

I have often said that what ultimately destroys a man on his way to great heights is not the enemies waiting for him there, but the character that followed him.

I want to emphatically underline the fact that this write-up is not meant to trivialize prayer in any way. However, I have observed that many people take character for

granted while overzealously switching to their spiritual mode.

We have become so spiritually in tune through prayers that we neglect the importance of character and our relationships with people. Many are actually heavenly bound but with no earthly relevance.

You may speak with spiritual eloquence, pray in public, and maintain a holy appearance, but it is your behaviour and character that will trigger the manifestation of all that God has for you.

You must learn to treat people with courtesy

The Shunammite woman must have been praying for a child all her life. By being hospitable to a man of God, she eventually received her miracle, it wasn’t prayer that opened the door—it was her character.

she got what she had been longing for. Had she been rude or inhospitable, she would have missed her miracle.

Many times, we pray, fast, and bind demons that don’t exist—when our real demons are our deeply flawed character.

Many have insulted people divinely placed in their lives to help them fulfill their destiny. Some are keeping malice with their destiny helpers.

HOW DO YOU TREAT PEOPLE?

1)     Treat people with respect.

2)    Treat strangers with courtesy.

3)    Never look down on anybody.

God can use anyone to change your story.

Abigail Van Buren once said: "The best index to a person’s character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and how he treats people who can’t fight back."

You can easily judge a man’s character by how he treats those who can do nothing

for him.

The way we treat people we think can’t help or hurt us such as housekeepers, waiters, and secretaries—reveals more about our character than how we treat those we consider important.

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA: A LESSON ON CHARACTER

One of the most impressive architectural feats and the greatest military defence project in history is the Great Wall of China. In 1987, UNESCO designated the Great Wall, a World Heritage site, and a popular controversial claim that emerged in the

20th century, which holds that it is the only man-made structure that is visible from space

 

 

Originally conceived by Emperor Qin Shi Huang (c. 259-210 B.C.) in the 3rd Century

B.C. as a means of preventing incursions from Mongolians and barbarian nomads into the Chinese Empire, the wall is one of the most extensive construction projects ever completed.

 

 

History has it that when the ancient Chinese decided to live in peace, they made the Great Wall of China; they thought no one could climb it due to its height.

During the first 100 years of its existence, the Chinese were invaded thrice and every time, the hordes of enemy infantry had no need of penetrating or climbing over the wall, because each time, they bribed the guards and came through the doors..

The Chinese built the wall but forgot to build the character of the guards.

Though the Great Wall has over the years become a powerful symbol of the country’s enduring strength and spirit, it has actually been a good reminder to the Chinese of the superiority of human character.

How many people and homes had been invaded, looted, and devastated by the enemy through the bribery of ego, self-indulgence, insincerity, and unfaithfulness.

The scriptures say , "While men slept, the enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way."

 

 

The Chinese realised much later that the best defence against the enemy is not a fortified wall but a fortified character

 

 

Thus, the building of human character comes before the building of anything else.

 

 

Ø  Prayer is very important in our lives, but it isn't EVERYTHING!

Ø  Build relationships, build your family, and don’t ever forget that God will always use man

Ø  Be mindful of your words and how you speak to people.

Ø  Work seriously on your character and attitude towards life.

Ø  I want to say emphatically that character is not optional; and so, is the place of prayers

Ø  it is sacrosanct to the future that God has planned for you and your home.

 

 

I have seen people pray tirelessly and completely forget that character matters a lot.

The greatest fraud in life is religion without character. A man without character is recklessly alive.

William Shakespeare captured this truth when he said: "The fault is not in our stars, but in ourselves."

Peter Schutz, the former CEO of Porsche, also remarked: "HIRE CHARACTER; TRAIN SKILLS."

 

 

Lastly, back in the days when Germany was divided, a huge wall separated East and West Berlin.

One day, some people in East Berlin took a truck load of garbage and dumped it on the West Berlin side. The people of West Berlin could have done the same thing, but they didn't. Instead, they took a truck load of canned foods, bread, milk, and other provisions, and neatly stacked it on the East Berlin side.

 

 

On top of this stack, they placed the sign: "EACH GIVES WHAT HE HAS." You can only give what you have.

Be sincere! What do you have inside of you?

Ø  Are you filled with hate or love?

Ø  Violence or peace?

Ø  Death or life?

Ø  The capacity to build or the tendency to destroy?

Ø  What have you acquired over the years?

Ø  A team spirit? Or a pull-down mentality?

Ø  Team spirit or pull down architecture?

 

 

My note:

These words are worth reading over and over; they are worth our meditation.

 More importantly, they are worth sharing with younger people

Let us build our Character.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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