Submitted by David Miller
The truest manifestation of our character is what we do with the mundane, the every day, and what we do when people we fear/respect are not in our sphere of influence. Many have "character" when being watched, but how many of those have it when no one is looking? Character is not what a person claims to personally have. Character is what others testify of you. If you boast of having character excessively, your boast is a hot air balloon being tossed by the winds from place to place with no consistency and no direction, no substance. In essence, it is hollow.
True character is not in the saying, not in the boasting, but in
the living. Character is walking in integrity, not while being watched, but
when in our own space, when no one of apparent authority is present. True
character is acknowledging and living like there is a God who is All-knowing
and All-present. You want to be pleasing to God, not just every once and a
while, but at all times and not just when it makes us look good.
Can anyone do anything outside the presence of God? Can anyone
hide from God? You might hide from men, but from God … never. Psalms 139:7 reminds us, Where can I go from your Spirit? Where
can I flee from your presence? Also take time to read the rest of the verses
all the way through to verse 24.
Some have allowed themselves to come to the place where their
character has so diminished that they could care less if God is present. They
are caught up in “wanting to do what they want to do.” They have determined to
do whatever pleases them at the expense of pleasing God.
Then when the piper comes a calling to have them pay the price
for the bad seed they’ve sown, somehow, it’s God’s fault or God has forsaken
them. When in actuality, they have forsaken God and they are reaping the
harvest of rebellion. They have sown the wind and have reaped the whirlwind. (Hosea 8:7*). What was bad is now much
worse and what was a “secret sin” is now public news.
If you are hiding, that’s an indication that you are heading in
the wrong direction. Don’t you think it is about time to truly become the
person of character God wants you to be?
Stay connected, remain submitted to godly authority, and run the race
with a pure heart and clean hands. Be a person of true character, one who is
honored first by God and then entrusted by men.
