Character...Don't you love it when someone says to you.."Man, you got some character in you!" Character has some pretty cool "buddies" too like Integrity, Straight Up, and Courage.
Character is defined as: "the features and traits that form an individual, including his personality and his very nature. Qualities from having character include Honesty, Courage, and Integrity that are in submission to moral and ethical behavior."
The word "character" itself is from an old middle English word: "carecter", meaning to have a distinct mark, to have a permanent imprint on the will, the mind, and the emotions of an individual. It can even be traced back to the Greek word "kharak", which means a pointed stick ( you have heard the phrase: "Stickin' it to ya"..well, this is in a good way...through honest and wholesome behavior.
Let's update this a little....here is a Gleaning from Philippians 2: 14-16:
" Whatever you are doing right now in your everyday life, do it with "style"...the God-Style! Here, write this down and use it as a checklist...see for yourself whether you are starting to drift in His Direction:
1. Always be ready to help another...and no, they don't have to be a Christian to require your help..."get a grip on it...please."
2. Do your daily activities with a cheerfulness about you...don't let your emotions dictate who you are....start with a smile...(don't hurt yourself lol).
3. Don't complain about the moment you are in...think again and give Him praise instead. I know it doesn't make sense to do this...but complaining doesn't really make sense either if you think it through.
4. Don't argue about "stuff" either...like "Why am I doing this?...So & So never does it." Here is a key to that little statement: You are not doing it for So & So....you do things to honor Him!
5. No doubt...remember the "Rocky" movie where it looks like he might go down in the fight?...He kept saying: "No pain....No pain."....well for us: "No doubt...No doubt!" We just got to shut down doubt when it enters our mind...thoughts like what we are doing is totally senseless or useless. That is simply...NOT TRUE! You never know when you do one "little thing" for someone that seems such a waste....can actually impact and change their whole world.
Here's the thing, if we can start to think and act like the God-Style life says, then we minimize and possibly remove criticism people may have toward us.
Living clean and innocent opens the door for us to be "Livin' the Dream"....because we are living for Him! Besides, it not the "monumental stuff" that usually change people's lives...it's the stuff we don't think about....a kind word, a smile, giving someone some change so they can get a soda, or helping someone struggling to carry their groceries out of the store....I am totally convinced...this is what really changes lives!
Just because we see crooked things going on around us, and it may even appear Evil is winning...that does not give us the right to act like that.
Hold firmly to the character God has instilled in you, let others discover it for themselves...that God is alive...today...He must be....He is shining through you!
Then, when Christ Jesus does return...and you better believe He will, others like Saint Paul can take pride in knowing: "Hey, I trained these "guys" right!"
Character is defined as: "the features and traits that form an individual, including his personality and his very nature. Qualities from having character include Honesty, Courage, and Integrity that are in submission to moral and ethical behavior."
The word "character" itself is from an old middle English word: "carecter", meaning to have a distinct mark, to have a permanent imprint on the will, the mind, and the emotions of an individual. It can even be traced back to the Greek word "kharak", which means a pointed stick ( you have heard the phrase: "Stickin' it to ya"..well, this is in a good way...through honest and wholesome behavior.
Let's update this a little....here is a Gleaning from Philippians 2: 14-16:
" Whatever you are doing right now in your everyday life, do it with "style"...the God-Style! Here, write this down and use it as a checklist...see for yourself whether you are starting to drift in His Direction:
1. Always be ready to help another...and no, they don't have to be a Christian to require your help..."get a grip on it...please."
2. Do your daily activities with a cheerfulness about you...don't let your emotions dictate who you are....start with a smile...(don't hurt yourself lol).
3. Don't complain about the moment you are in...think again and give Him praise instead. I know it doesn't make sense to do this...but complaining doesn't really make sense either if you think it through.
4. Don't argue about "stuff" either...like "Why am I doing this?...So & So never does it." Here is a key to that little statement: You are not doing it for So & So....you do things to honor Him!
5. No doubt...remember the "Rocky" movie where it looks like he might go down in the fight?...He kept saying: "No pain....No pain."....well for us: "No doubt...No doubt!" We just got to shut down doubt when it enters our mind...thoughts like what we are doing is totally senseless or useless. That is simply...NOT TRUE! You never know when you do one "little thing" for someone that seems such a waste....can actually impact and change their whole world.
Here's the thing, if we can start to think and act like the God-Style life says, then we minimize and possibly remove criticism people may have toward us.
Living clean and innocent opens the door for us to be "Livin' the Dream"....because we are living for Him! Besides, it not the "monumental stuff" that usually change people's lives...it's the stuff we don't think about....a kind word, a smile, giving someone some change so they can get a soda, or helping someone struggling to carry their groceries out of the store....I am totally convinced...this is what really changes lives!
Just because we see crooked things going on around us, and it may even appear Evil is winning...that does not give us the right to act like that.
Hold firmly to the character God has instilled in you, let others discover it for themselves...that God is alive...today...He must be....He is shining through you!
Then, when Christ Jesus does return...and you better believe He will, others like Saint Paul can take pride in knowing: "Hey, I trained these "guys" right!"
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