Robert Murray McCheyne was a Scottish minister in the nineteenth century. He was a deeply prayerful and spiritual man. To a young ministerial student, McCheyne wrote the following words on the subject of character.

I know you will apply hard to German, but do not forget the culture of the inner man—I mean of the heart. How diligently the cavalry officer keeps his sabre clean and sharp; every stain he rubs off with the greatest care. Remember you are God’s sword, His instrument—I trust, a chosen vessel unto Him to bear His name. In great measure, according to the purity and perfection of the instrument, will be the success. It is not great talents God blesses so much as likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.¹

According to the purity and perfection of the instrument, will be the success. Those are good words to hear. So, let’s talk about character: what it is and how to develop it in our everyday lives.

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Character: What Everybody Wants

Romans 5:3–5 (ESV) — 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

• Employers want to see character in their employees.
• Employees want it in abundance from their supervisors and managers.
• Everybody wants their kids to brim with it.
• It’s the single most important thing everybody wants.
• Has the world enjoyed dealing with people who have bad character?

John 8:44 (ESV) — 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. * Has the world enjoyed dealing with murdering dictators?

• What about you in your personal life?
• When you go to make a major purchase, like a car or a house, do you want the person you are dealing with to be ethical, to be honest, to tell you the truth?
• Managers, when you are trying to hire someone, do you want that person to be truthful, to not lie on their application?
• Do you enjoy digging through deception?
• Does it make feel good to unravel untruth?
  • To have to have to trench through trickery?
  • To be drug through disinformation?
• What about when we take this discussion in the home life?
• Do you want your spouse to be truthful with you?
• Do you want them to be faithful to you?
• Nobody enjoys that mess.
• Good character is what the world wants.
• It’s what corporate America wants.
• Surely, it should be what believers in Jesus want.
• What is good character and why is it important?

Defining Character

• Character is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.
• We put the adjective ‘good’ in front of it because, of course, there are those who have bad character.
• You know ‘good character’ good mental and moral qualities.
• The word originated from the word ‘chisel’ or engrave.
• So if you think of a block of wood, and you think of a sculptor carving out of that block of wood an image, a statute, or a figure, you have a nice word picture of what it means to develop character.
• Character is chiseling out of your person good moral qualities.
• Character traits are developed one hammer blow at a time.
• Character traits are ingrained or become habitual by hundred’s of hammer blows.
• A good character trait is formed and fashioned by hundreds of decisions made over the course of time.

Deuteronomy 30:19 (ESV) — 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,

Joshua 24:15 (ESV) — 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

• You don’t just make these kinds of decisions just one time.
• You have to constantly choose the ways of God over the ways of men.
• Character is developed by choices made over the long haul.

Honesty As A Core Value

• Let’s take for example honesty.
• It’s ought to be one of your core values as a Jesus follower.

Proverbs 6:16 (ESV) — 16 There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

• How do you develop honesty in your life?
• By making hundreds of right decisions where you were confronted with a choice.
• Do I tell the truth, do I not tell the truth?
• These verses from God’s Word ought to be enough to persuade any believer of the importance of truth-telling.

Proverbs 12:22 (ESV) Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight.

Proverbs 14:5 (ESV) A faithful witness does not lie, but a false witness breathes out lies.

Proverbs 26:28 (ESV) A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.

Psalm 5:6 (ESV) You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

Psalm 120:2 (ESV) Deliver me, O LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue.

Psalm 120:3 (ESV) What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue?

Hosea 4:1 (ESV) Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land;

Hosea 4:2 (ESV) there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

John 8:44 (ESV) You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Revelation 22:15 (ESV) Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

• To be continued…

Call to Action

The call to action here is simply to be a doer of God’s Word in the area of character. Be a good person of character. Be a good representative of Jesus. Lying and moral failures are unbecoming representations of those who are children of the Most High.

Question of the Day: As responsible Jesus followers, how have you tried to instill good character into the those who are in your circle of influence? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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