Character

Over the last couple of nights, I listened to the first episode in a podcast series by Andy Stanley called Character under Construction (the last couple of nights, because I like listening to podcasts when I go to sleep, but I tend to fall asleep about half-way through).  His message really hit me, so I wanted to share a few of the highlights, take-away, key points, or whatever you want to call them...

1.  Character and Ethics used to be tied together, but in the modern world ACHIEVEMENT is often valued higher than character, so achievement becomes the foundation of the ethics that most people live by.  For example, it's ok to cheat or cut corners if the end result is profit, gain, pleasure, or advancement.

2.  Character, for a believer, is "the will to do what is right as God defines what is right, regardless of the cost." It's not doing what is right because it takes me somewhere or keeps me from some punishment, but doing what is right BECAUSE it is right! 

3.  Proverbs 11:3a - "The integrity of the upright guides them..."  How often do I ask God for guidance, looking for a sign or a message or a word?  Sometimes he might provide those things, but the first form of His guidance is through a person's own integrity.  If I could live a life of character, where I am continually choosing what is right because God defines it as right, my own integrity and outlook might provide the direction that I need in many choices.