“For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.” (2 Cor. 8:21 NLT)
When I was growing up in the 1950’s (yeah, that was a long time ago), I loved to watch cowboy movies featuring heroes like Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, the Lone Ranger, and of course, anything with the great John Wayne. There were the good guys and the bad guys, and you clearly knew who they were; the good guys usually wore white hats, and the bad guys wore black. The movie plots were thin and predictable, but that didn’t matter, the good guys always saved the day—they got the bad guys, they got the beautiful girls, and they rode off into a brilliant sunset at the end of the movie. You walked out of the theater feeling good because all had been made right. Those were the days!
Not anymore!
Over the years there has been a paradigm shift in movie characters and plots. Today, we have both superheroes and super villains, and you no longer know who’s going to win. In fact, characters who would have been considered evil during my childhood are now portrayed as wonderful, powerful, and exciting, and kids root for them to win. Good and evil is no longer clearly defined. Young people no longer understand the difference and why it should be important to them. They spend hours playing electronic games virtually and they mentally become the characters they are playing, whether good or evil. And this does affect their character development and how they understand what’s right and wrong and society changes as millions of them become adults and enter communities and the work force.
Defining character
“Your character is the internal script that will determine your response to failure, success, mistreatment, and pain. It reaches into every single facet of your life. It is more far-reaching than your talent, your education, your background, or your network of friends.” A.W. Tozer
In the Bible persons of character are noted for their honesty, ethics, and charity. “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.” (Prov. 10:9)
One of the few things we can control is our character
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;” (Gal. 5:22-23)
With God's help we can behave wisely and make wise decisions: “I will be careful to live a blameless life—when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home.” (Psalm 101:2, NLT)