Weekly Thought Archives > Strengthening The Core
Strengthening The Core
The Apostle Paul tells us "endurance produces character." It’s important he didn’t say endurance produces personality. We are living today in an age when personality often substitutes for character.
Our personality is affected by our moods, our environment, even by our associations. We learn to define what is happy, what is pleasant, what is appealing through our social grid. It is flexible.
Our character is the bedrock. It is the foundation for our life. It is who we are. Someone has said, "character is what you are when you are alone." I think it is more than that because your true strength of character often must show when we are with others, when we are fighting temptations, when we are forced to take a stand, when we choose to do the right thing.
Character is the domicile of our core structure. It is the vault for our values.
What did the Apostle Paul build on that character foundation? Hope. I am convinced hope is the healthy mental condition of the normal Christian. Notice I did not say "average" Christian. Like Watchman Nee pointed out, the normal Christian life is not always the average one. If we are to be normal, we must live in hope.
Recently, the President of a large corporation came to talk about the pressures of facing chapter 11 bankruptcy. He was nationally known and respected. Due to financial circumstances (many beyond his control), the company is in terrible trouble. He talked about the meetings ahead of him and the factions within his company. I reminded him of the danger of hopelessness. We are never to be without hope because we are never without Help.
On numerous occasions, I have visited with friends contemplating suicide. Invariably, we got to lack of hope. They could see nothing good in the future. They could anticipate no pleasure. Strangely, they found a certain heroism in "going down with the ship." Somehow they wanted to symbolically administer the last rites. I called one friend on this challenging him the emotion he needed to demonstrate was hope, not false heroics.
Hope is the birthright of Christians. But, hope is not in our productivity or our material wealth. Our hope is centered in being, not in doing, or in having.
True hope never disappoints. True character never disappears.
This week think about: 1) What are my character strengths? 2) Where do I find hope? 3) What is in my values vault?
Words of Wisdom: "Character is the domicile of our core structure. It is the vault for our values."
Wisdom from the Word: "Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance, character, and character, hope; And hope does not disappoint..." (Romans 5: 3-5a NET Bible)
