Problems
- leadership was a blend of competence and character. Until a friend remarked, “Did you ever stop to think that most failures in leadership are failures in character and not failures in competence?”
- If character is the reason most people fail, what causes most of our character failures?
- who I think I am is not who I am. Who I say I am is not who I am. Character is this: who I am at my core is displayed through my habitual behaviors
God
- The Bible makes a stunning connection between us and the source of all character issues.
Romans 1:25
They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
Romans 1:28-32
Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
- What worship means: We serve it, the bottom line, cannot live without it, validating everything we do.
- When we refuse to acknowledge God, we simply worship something else
- Kids don’t have a character problem; they have a worship problem that produces a character problem.
Application
- Humans are uniquely made in the image of God, made to relate to him in his world and reflect his nature and goodness to the world (Genesis 1:26-29).
- Character development is a lifelong journey
- Because he is committed to character change, our Lord goes after the idols of our heart and he does not rest until every thought, desire, choice, word, and action is fully surrendered in the worship of him.
- Character kills pride because you have to choose between the two of them. Lying.
Vision
- How do you get character? We accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord, and personal Savior.
- The way out is to stop suppressing the truth, and praise God as God—to depend on him and accept his right to rule over us
- Nobody at your funeral cares about your career or accomplishments, character is not about your gifts.