By: Steve Wilmot
John Wooden, legendary basketball coach of the UCLA Bruins declared, “Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
Your character is who you really are. It’s not the person you try to convince others you are. It’s who you are when you’re behind closed doors.
It’s who you are when you’re driving, and someone cuts you off on the road. It’s who you are when you’re alone and nobody is watching.
Character matters. It matters a great deal. Over and over throughout the Bible, God makes clear he is primarily concerned with our hearts. With what’s inside, not what we let others see.
Above all else, guard your heart, for it determines the course of your life (Proverbs 4.23).
“Above all else.” That means it’s not a trivial issue. Character matters because it determines the course of your life.
When God looked for someone qualified to become the king of Israel, the first place he looked was at the heart, and the first thing he looked for was character.
Everyone thought Eliab was a shoo-in. After all, he had the physical qualifications, he had a reputation as a great warrior, and many of his outstanding feats were well known. But God rejected Eliab as king when he examined his heart and noted he lacked inner character.
But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at the way he looks on the outside or how tall he is, because I have not chosen him. For the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. A man looks at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart’ (1 Samuel 16.7).
After passing on six brothers who looked the part of a king, God selected David because he was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13.22). There was something about David’s character that matched up with God’s.
This situation with David wasn’t an isolated example. When the apostles were ready to select a replacement for Judas, they considered two candidates. Then they prayed, Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen (Acts 1.24).
They realized character mattered — the heart of the man. Outwardly, both men looked qualified, but the apostles wouldn’t be fooled by basing their decision on how a guy acted or talked because those can be deceiving.
They would only take a man after God’s own heart with the character of Jesus.
It’s not surprising that Peter writes that after putting our faith in Jesus for salvation, our next step on our spiritual journey is building godly character.
So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character (2 Peter 1.5, MSG).
Jesus spent three years with his twelve disciples preparing them to carry on his mission after he was gone. His curriculum didn’t start with teaching them how to do miracles, cast out demons, heal the sick, or preach effective sermons. Those things came later because they were only secondary concerns to Jesus.
Transforming the character of these men stood as the most important phase of their training. Turning them into men with the character of Jesus who loves people like Jesus does and cares about the hurts, the heartaches, and the needs of people like Jesus did.
Only then would they be ready for Jesus to turn over his mission to them and know they would not fail. What would happen today if churches selected pastors and leaders based on their character, instead of their popularity, family connections in the church, or contributing the largest check in the offering plate each week?
How would it change the perception of the unchurched regarding Jesus and those who are supposed to represent him with Christlike character?
Would more people be interested in becoming followers of Jesus themselves? The character of Jesus emanates from the heart. And it’s of first importance. How’s your heart?
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Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.