BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Quite often the answer is that they need to take a closer look at their character. God is getting ready to do amazing things, and He’s not going to do it for those who just want big ministries. He’s going to do amazing things through the people who want to know God simply because they want to know God. He’s going to do it through people of character. What Is Character? Thirty years ago, Kenneth Copeland said something about character so profound that it forever settled its definition for me. I remember him standing at the podium with his piercing eyes when he said: “Character is doing what’s right, because it’s right, and then doing it right.” That’s it right there! Character is doing what’s right for no other reason than because it’s the right thing to do. Then it’s doing it right. If you’re a pastor and God tells you to put carpet in your church, don’t go all-in on the cheap, raggedy carpet. Do it right. If God tells you to bless someone with lunch, don’t get them a 99-cent cheeseburger. Do it right. Character is what defines you. It’s something that you hold fast to on the inside and that people see on the outside. A.W. Tozer taught that just as the excellence of gold is its purity, and the excellence of art is its beauty, the excellence of man is his character. A person’s character is the sum of his or her disposition, thoughts, intentions, desires and actions. It’s worth noting that character is gauged by general tendencies rather than isolated happenings. You’ve got to be careful not to look at someone’s isolated action and then judge their character based on that one incident. We live in a world where people love to shame people for their mistakes, but people are more than the sum of a few mistakes. People make progress. When God sees us fall, He doesn’t shame us. He encourages us to keep walking, to try again. God knows how to take every bit of our mess and turn it into a masterpiece. Grieving the Spirit It’s no wonder that Colossians 3:12-13 says, “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you” ("New Living Translation"). Paul was emphasizing that how we treat one another is important. You know what grieves the Holy Spirit? When we treat one another in a way that’s not in line with the Word of God. Our character is the consistent manifestation of Jesus in our lives. It’s shown in how we deal with situations where forgiveness is required. I’ve spent some time judging myself in how I treat others. It matters to me how I treat the waitress at Cracker Barrel®, or the guy who parks my car, or the people on our maintenance team at World Changers. Do I greet them and ask them how they are? Or do I act like I’m “all that” and put on a facade? How we treat the people we interact with each day is important. Titus 1:16, "NLT", says that some “people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live.” I don’t want people to hear me say I serve God, but then see me living a different way. If you’ve done some introspection and still don’t know how you’re doing with your character, ask God. He’ll let you know. Integrity and Character Our character is demonstrated by our actions. In fact, the primary difference between integrity and character is action. Integrity adheres to a code: the Word of God. Character acts. Integrity recognizes that a behavior is bad and doesn’t join in. Character does something about it. You can see the difference between these qualities even in elementary school. When our kids go to school, if they see someone bullying someone else and refuse to join in, that’s integrity. But if they take it a step further and act, attempting to stop the bullying behavior even if it means they’ll go to the principal’s office, that’s character. Integrity says, “I’m not going to get involved in the bad,” then character adds, “and I’m going to do something about it.” As we grow up, the situations may change, but how we respond shouldn’t. When we see hungry people in our communities, are we going to stand aside, or will we act, stepping in to do something about it? 10 : BVOV

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