Counting Character

Just recently I listened to a man at Church teach a Sunday School lesson on the bumper sticker ''Character does count''. The basic point of the lesson was that our popular culture does not encourage good character but glorifies bad morality. The teacher argued that good character is not the result of circumstances, but that circumstances reveal the quality of our character. This idea is not new to me and I tend to agree with it, but the teacher went further to point out that good character was limited by the company it keeps. He made a point of explaining how listening to ''bad" music and watching movies that contain sex and violence limit one's ability to develop or maintain good character. I have qualms about this belief, but my major concern is what naturally followed in this man's logic. Our teacher's conclusion included the observation that good character is essential to an obedient walk with God. In other words in order to be a good Christian one must have good character.

At first glance this idea seems reasonable, but a deeper look reveals a mistaken view that leads to legalism. Let's start by looking at the history of that bumper sticker which became popular in response to the presidential campaign slogan of the 1990s ‘‘It’s the economy stupid." Our slogan as Christians became ''Character Does Count" because the focus on economy disregarded the moral weaknesses of the Clinton administration. We believe that money is well below morality in importance, and wanted our leaders to be moral examples for our nation.

What, then, is character if it is so important? As I inferred above, character walks hand in hand with morality. In other words my character is the sum of my moral convictions. As wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn says it, character is “the inherent complex of attributes that determine a persons moral and ethical actions and reactions.” If someone were to say that I was an example of biblical character it is usually meant that I live by scripturally guided moral convictions. A man who is known for biblical character is a man who can be counted on to do the right thing according to God's Word no matter who is watching or not watching. Character is important because it is what guides us in who we should include in our cultural influences. I want to see a man or woman of Godly character leading in my family, church, city, state, and country, and I want a woman or man of Godly character teaching my children in school or church. When choosing associates in friendship and business I look for people who exemplify Godly character. Remember that ICorinthians 15:33 tells us that ''bad company corrupts good morals."

I also want to be a person of the kind of character that will be a welcome associate of other people with godly character. It is for that reason that the Sunday school lesson caught my attention, but our teacher made a critical error in understanding the source of good character for the Christian. Our teacher followed the same pattern that I have heard all my life of giving examples of people who made good choices and exhibited good character in obscure settings. They did the right thing when no one would have noticed if they had done nothing at all. I want to be that kind of person, and it is intuitive that in order to be a person of good character I need to spend as much time as possible exposing myself to things that would encourage good character, but by focusing on this aspect of character alone our teacher left out the essential aspect of Christian character that sets us apart from all other religions that focus on developing strong morality- the Holy Spirit and a changed heart.

I remember reading Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography as a boy and thinking about his process of developing good character by making charts and lists and using them to create habits that would make him a better man over time. I remember discussing this with my father and we decided that Benjamin Franklin was a man of good character, but then the question was asked would he be in Heaven? The answer from Scripture is that Mr. Franklin is doomed if he relied on his good character to attain God’s favor. There is only one way to God through Jesus and His work on the cross (John 14:6). ICorinthians 15:32 points out the futility of relying on good character to attain to God’s favor and Heaven. In the above passage Paul asks what benefit martyrdom has if we do not gain eternal life through Christ’s resurrection, and the answer is none. Ephesians 2:8-9 is more explicit stating that we are saved through faith in Christ’s work and not our own works.

Stated simply, good character will not get us to Heaven, but does it have eternal value? The answer is a resounding yes. Jesus made it clear that character matters in His various teachings. Of course one only has to remember the Ten Commandments to remember what God expects of His people, but it also important to remember that under Christ the definition of good character is actually focused on something other than conduct. A quick reading through Romans 8 will remind us of that. The power of God in a man or woman is not found in the rules that they obey, but a life lived under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Compare the fruit of the Spirit (Galations 5:22-23) with the basic attitudes you would expect in someone with good character. This is a gift of God through the work of the Holy Spirit in changing a sinful man or woman’s heart.

God’s work in a heart totally committed to Him will naturally result in good character. So I make my final response to the idea that our teacher articulated that good character is essential in order to have a good walk with God. Good character for the Christian is the result of a life lived in a close walk with God. If I lack good character it is not really because I listen to bad music or watch violent and sex-filled movies, but because I am not open to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. If I lack good character I should even question whether I have truly followed the Spirit’s call and had my heart changed. I have been in the legalistic process of creating good character in myself by limiting my access to the world, but then became so afraid of the taints of the world that I became useless in evangelism and too exhausted to hear the gentle guidance of the Holy Spirit. This may be good character in one sense, but it misses the ultimate point.

I close this essay by admitting to the same frustration as expressed by our teacher in the fact that our American Christian society seems like it cares more about looking like the world than pursuing Godly character. I see that we are allowing ourselves to be corrupted by bad company, but I don’t think this situation calls for redoubled effort in attaining good character. What we really need is intense soul searching to see if each of us is obeying the call of the Holy Spirit instead of the siren call of the world. To be truthful, I don’t want good character. I really want my character to be Jesus’ character. That doesn’t come from harder work, but from allowing God to conform me to Christ’s image (Romans 12:1-2). I therefore recommend that we avoid creating lists of movies and songs to boycott and focus on what is true, right, and honorable (Philippians 4:8). The rest will follow.