I apologize for not getting a blog post up on Saturday, as I was dealing with an illness. Though you have probably noticed by now that my character is not such that I consistently hit my goal of blogging 6 times a week.
Last week, I ended by asking if character is something we are born with, or something that develops through life experience. You may recall that I believe it's a little bit of both, that we have certain things that we are born with, and that we can grow in character through life experience as well. So today, I want to look a little bit at the growth of character as we experience life.
If I were to ask you what some of the most influential experiences have been which have made you who you are today, would they consist of mostly good events or bad events in life? As I look back at a number of different things that have shaped my character, I tend to find that those elements developed as a result of events that tended to be more difficult. Don't get me wrong, I believe that good events can help shape our character, too. However, it does seem that character is built most when we find ourselves tested.
The apostle Paul also seemed to note this. Romans 5:3-4 states that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character. When we are challenged in life, we tend to discover who we are. When trials come upon us, we discover much about ourselves. Sometimes what we discover is good. Sometimes we don't like what we discover, and so we make an intentional effort to make a change.
Once again, I'd like to point out that these trials and challenges reveal our character, which consists of what we are known for. Someone who encounters a challenge in life and runs from it finds that the challenge reveals the characteristic of flight. On the other hand, another person might encounter that challenge, and then strive to bring good out of the situation, regardless of how difficult that might be. The challenge reveals the characteristic of fight. This is not to say that one is better than the other, but that, in both situations, the challenge revealed the character of the person.
How have bad events or experienced shaped your character? Well, they don't always do so in ways that we are proud of. So tomorrow, I'll look a little bit at that.
Last week, I ended by asking if character is something we are born with, or something that develops through life experience. You may recall that I believe it's a little bit of both, that we have certain things that we are born with, and that we can grow in character through life experience as well. So today, I want to look a little bit at the growth of character as we experience life.
If I were to ask you what some of the most influential experiences have been which have made you who you are today, would they consist of mostly good events or bad events in life? As I look back at a number of different things that have shaped my character, I tend to find that those elements developed as a result of events that tended to be more difficult. Don't get me wrong, I believe that good events can help shape our character, too. However, it does seem that character is built most when we find ourselves tested.
The apostle Paul also seemed to note this. Romans 5:3-4 states that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character. When we are challenged in life, we tend to discover who we are. When trials come upon us, we discover much about ourselves. Sometimes what we discover is good. Sometimes we don't like what we discover, and so we make an intentional effort to make a change.
Once again, I'd like to point out that these trials and challenges reveal our character, which consists of what we are known for. Someone who encounters a challenge in life and runs from it finds that the challenge reveals the characteristic of flight. On the other hand, another person might encounter that challenge, and then strive to bring good out of the situation, regardless of how difficult that might be. The challenge reveals the characteristic of fight. This is not to say that one is better than the other, but that, in both situations, the challenge revealed the character of the person.
How have bad events or experienced shaped your character? Well, they don't always do so in ways that we are proud of. So tomorrow, I'll look a little bit at that.
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