Character: Part Three

By Carol Dickey
The three elements that are always part of a healthy relationship are respect, trust and communication. Certainly, this is true of our relationship with God. We demonstrate respect when we acknowledge that God’s standard is THE standard by which we live.

After describing the person of character in detail in Psalm 15, David concludes that the one who does these things will never be moved (or shaken).

This is a benefit you do not experience immediately. It is one of those things that comes from weeks, months or even years of investing in your character. It is the result of adopting a lifestyle. Think of two trees in a storm. While the same storm sweeps over both trees with the same force, one tree may be destroyed while the other is left standing. Men and women of character are not always delivered from the storms of life, but they are delivered through them by God. Their roots go deep and their faith is strong.

Character comes from the Lord and also paves the way for closeness with Him. To know Him is to trust Him. To trust Him is to live with the confidence that He will not allow you to be shaken.

If someone spent a week carefully watching your lifestyle -- what you laugh at, where you go, what you allow into your mind -- what conclusion would he or she draw about your God? How would the picture he or she developed compare to the picture that we find in Scripture?

Our love for Christ will be reflected in what we tolerate in our life. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (NKJV). Remember how you felt when you became a Christian? Remember how you were willing to do whatever God asked? There was a high level of trust and certainty. You felt God could be trusted, so you stepped out in faith and looked to Him to intervene. God has not changed; He can still be trusted and He still has your best interests in mind.

Character requires a sensitive heart. To become a man or woman of character we must have a renewing of our minds: “And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude]” (Ephesians 4.23, AMP).

Romans 12:1,2 also states this: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (NKJV).