Yesterday, in discussing seven pillars of character (the first six of which are from Michael Josephson of the organization, Character Counts), we talked about, trustworthiness, respect and responsibility. Today we address the following characteristics: fairness, caring, citizenship, and personal honesty (integrity).

Fairness: It is true that in many ways life isn’t fair, for as the Bible says, “It rains on the just as well as the unjust.”² This is one reason why bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. We just happen to live in a broken world, which affects us all. However, we can offset much of the unfairness of life, if we all seek to treat all people at all times with fairness.

Caring: The highest law always ought to be as God’s Word teaches: to love one another.³ If we truly love God, we will love and care for one another. And as Jesus said, if we love God and others, we will be fulfilling all of God’s laws.⁴ In so doing, we can and will make our world a better place for ourselves, our children, and our children’s children.

Citizenship: As the Australian Citizenship website states, “Citizenship is a serious commitment.” Whether we are citizens of a country or citizens of heaven, while we have privileges and rights, we also have duties and responsibilities. Good citizenship requires both. Thus to have healthy communities, along with our rights and our privileges, it is our duty and responsibility to be model citizens and all work together to make our church, our club, our family, our society, and our nation a better world in which to live.

Personal Honesty (integrity): In my opinion, denial is perhaps one of the most practiced, subtle, and self-destructive “sins of the saints.”

When we speak of denial, we are not talking about denial of self, which, with an honest motive, is another healthy characteristic. We’re talking about denial of one’s reality, the failure to admit one’s character weaknesses, the denial of one’s negative feelings, and blindness to one’s motives.

We are reminded that it is the pure in heart who will see God⁵ and that God desires truth in the innermost being.⁶

Without access to one’s own truth or inner reality, there is no growth, no healing of persons, no forgiveness, and no resolution of personal problems or relational conflicts.

So here they are—seven pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, citizenship, and personal honesty.

And whether we believe and accept it or not, character does count … for time and eternity!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be mindful of the fact that character does count. Help me not only to be trustworthy, respectful and responsible, but also exercise fairness, always be caring (loving), practice good citizenship, and always be honest and maintain integrity so that in all ways I will be like Christ and bring glory to your name. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 5:8 (NASB).

2. Matthew 5:45.

3. John 13:34.

4. Matthew 22:40.

5. Matthew 5:8.

6. Psalm 51:6.

According to the organization, Character Counts, “The Six Pillars of Character are: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship,” to which we could add a seventh, personal honesty.

Trustworthiness: Recently we heard on the news (and I mentioned it in a previous Daily Encounter) how one teacher failed a student whom she caught cheating on her final exam. The cheater’s parents were so outraged that she, the teacher, was forced to resign! Teaching at Harvard Business School ten years ago, Chuck Colson noted that the students didn’t have a clue about ethics. Hence today we reap results such as Enron, WorldCom, Arthur Andersen accounting firm, etc., etc., debacles. Sadly, cheating for far too many students and people has become an accepted norm today.

But the fact remains, when we break trust, we reap what we sow—even if it is eventually.

Respect: Another thing I was taught when growing up was to respect my elders, open doors for ladies, give my seat on a bus to ladies and the elderly, say thank you when kindnesses are shown to me, etc., etc. Guess I’m still pretty much old-fashioned because I still do these things.

I also believe strongly in respecting and appreciating the men and women in our police force, the armed forces, and all who invest their lives in helping to protect us and the freedoms we enjoy—the price of which has been paid for by others.

And how I wish people would learn from an early age to respect other people’s property, the blessings and benefits of our advanced society, and our beautiful countryside!

Responsibility: A very popular pastime these days is the blame-game! Here’s a classic example from New York: “A five-foot-10-inch 272-pound man sued four fast-food chains, claiming their fare contributed to his obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

“The class-action lawsuit, which was filed in the Bronx Supreme Court, was seeking undetermined compensatory damages against McDonald’s, Wendy’s, KFC, and Burger King on behalf of 56-year-old Caesar Barber and others.”²

So would I purposely put my hand on a stove hotplate, burn my hand, and then sue the manufacturer of the stove!? Last night on the news I heard a man being interviewed about smoking. He claimed he should be able to smoke where he wanted to because it was the tobacco company’s fault that he was addicted to cigarettes!

Amazing, isn’t it! And, can you imagine any lawyer in his right mind and of any character taking on such cases!

I mean … where is the fat? Really!

To be continued …

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to be trustworthy, respectful, and responsible in all that I am and do and thereby bring glory to your name. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Peter 2:1-2 (TLB-NIV).

2. The Orange County Register July 27, 2002, News P. 25.

In 1992, Hurricane Andrew destroyed thousands of homes in South Florida. Yet in an area where the wreckage looked like a war zone, one house remained standing, still firmly anchored to its foundation. When a reporter asked the homeowner why his house had not been blown away, he replied, “I built this house myself. I also built it according to the Florida state building code. When the code called for 2″x6″ roof trusses, I used 2″x6″ roof trusses. I was told that a house built according to the code could withstand a hurricane—and it did.”²

I can identify with this builder because in former years I was a builder by trade and built my own home at the top of the Adelaide hills in Australia where the winds blow furiously. I not only built according to the local building codes, but went the second mile. Instead of using 2″x8″ rafters I used 3″x8″ and instead of using large nails to secure these, I used large coach screw/bolts, and so on. I lost a few roofing tiles on one occasion in a wild storm, but never was there any other damage.

As Jesus reminds us, it pays to build solidly on a solid foundation. He was referring to building our lives according to his code as found in his Word, The Bible. Those who do will not be swept away by the storms of life and adverse circumstances that threaten to destroy us.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to build my life on ‘Christ, the Solid Rock’ and live according to your instructions as found in the Bible. I thank you that, if I do this, you have guaranteed that I will be able to stand firm in all of life’s storms. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 7:25 (NASB).

2. Tom Moore, preacher@hsnp.com cited in KneEmail, http://www.oakhillcoc.org.

I have read how, as a boy in the Midwest, Dale Carnegie used to amuse himself by holding a stick across a gateway that the sheep had to pass through.

After the first few sheep jumped over the stick, Dale would take it away. Oddly enough, all of the remaining sheep would also leap through the gateway over the imaginary barrier. The only reason for their jumping was that those in front of them had jumped.

Sheep are not the only ones with this tendency. Many of us are prone to do what we have seen others do, believe what others believe, and often accept without question what our leaders teach.

Traditions can be a blessing or a bane. Some religious traditions are good and help keep healthy ties to the past. Other traditions, especially man-made religious traditions, can keep people in bondage and stop them from seeing the truth. For one example … take the music in today’s Christian churches. It is one of the biggest areas of conflict. Some want to cling only to the old hymns; others want to do away with much of the past and sing only “praise choruses.” The interesting thing about the latter, I have recently read how some of the younger generation are now wanting to go back to the old hymns as they already see “praise choruses” as being traditional and don’t want to be singing the same music in church that they hear in the secular world every day!

I know of one church where some members rebelled not against singing praise choruses in their Sunday morning worship service, but against having a screen on which to view the words. They said they couldn’t worship God with a screen in the front of the church sanctuary! That church clung so tightly to tradition that it was unable to move from the old ways to any of the new, and died. It no longer exists.

There’s much truth in what Gloria Steinem is credited as having said: “The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn.”

Saddest thing of all was that the religious people of Jesus day, while they were waiting for the promised Messiah, didn’t recognize or accept him when he came. Tradition blinded them to reality.

But there are also good traditions that we need to keep. Accepting Jesus as your Savior and Lord is a 2,000–year–old tradition. It has never changed. It never will. Jesus is still the only way to God. As Jesus himself said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father [God] except through me.”²

As today’s Bible verse points out, the early Christians in Berea constantly examined the Scriptures to make sure that Paul’s teachings were in harmony with the Word of God. We need to do the same—and cling to that which is true and discard that which is untrue or no longer relevant. As the Apostle himself taught, “Test everything. Hold on to the good.”³ Besides, have you ever noticed how silent the New Testament is on methodology? I think God had a good reason for that.

Suggested prayer. “Dear God, please help me to keep a healthy balance between the old and the new, to discern the difference between traditions that are in harmony with your Word and those which are man–made irrelevant traditions. Please give me the wisdom to know the difference between the two, the courage to cling to that which is true, and the willingness to discard that which is not of you. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Acts 17:11 (NIV).

2. John 14:6 (NIV).

3. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (NIV).

In younger days I used to think I was the only one who had an inferiority complex and felt insecure. I have long since learned that feeling insecure was part of the human condition and I wasn’t alone by any means. Half the answer to overcoming this feeling is to admit it and then we are free to grow and change. Sadly, these feelings are often embedded into our mind by others who put us down or simply don’t believe in us.

For instance, I recently read how “the famous Psychiatrist Dr. Alfred Adler had an experience when a young boy, which illustrates just how powerful such a belief can be upon behavior and ability. He got off to a bad start in arithmetic and his teacher became convinced that he was ‘dumb in mathematics.’ The teacher then advised the parents of this ‘fact’ and told them not to expect too much of him. They too were convinced. Adler passively accepted the evaluation they had placed upon him. And his grades in arithmetic proved they had been correct.

“One day, however, he had a sudden flash of insight and thought he saw how to work a problem the teacher had put on the board, and which none of the other pupils could work. He announced as much to the teacher. She and the whole class laughed. Whereupon, he became indignant, strode to the blackboard, and worked the problem much to their amazement. In doing so, he realized that he could understand arithmetic. He felt a new confidence in his ability, and went on to become a good math student.”

A few years ago I shared a poem I had written with a friend and he picked it to pieces. Tragically I believed his words and never wrote another poem for years. What got me started again was when a gifted artist told me how much she loved my poems. That inspired me to write more. The fact is, we all need someone who sees the gifts we have, who believes in us, and encourages us to develop our gifts and use them.

Note: If interested, see poems: “Forever Friend” at http://tinyurl.com/3z238u and “Unsung Songs” at http://tinyurl.com/4vsnnj by yours truly.

Suggested prayer, “Dear God, thank you for the gifts and abilities you have given to me. Please help me to know what these are, be well trained and skillful in using them, believe in myself as you believe in me, and use my gifts for your glory. And please help me to be an encourager of others to help them see, develop, and use their gifts also for your glory. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Matthew 9:29 (NIV).

A Native American boy was talking with his grandfather. “What do you think about the world situation?” he asked. The grandfather replied, “I feel like two wolves are fighting in my heart. One is full of anger and hatred. The other is full of love, forgiveness and peace.”

“Which one will win?” asked the boy.

To which the grandfather replied, “The one I feed.”

Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, “Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds,” and James Allen rightly stated, “You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.”

Another has said, “What the mind dwells on the body acts on.” If you don’t believe this, think how temptation works—first a thought that seems to come from nowhere … we feed it and the thought begins to expand … then one’s feelings get involved … and the more we think about it … the more we hunger for it … then we begin to rationalize and justify what we want to do … and the battle is lost. It all starts in the mind.

As they say about computers: GIGO = garbage in garbage out. So it is with the mind. If we keep looking at and thinking about garbage, we will act out accordingly. But, if as the Bible says, we concentrate on thoughts that are noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable, we too, will act accordingly. It’s all in the mind, for what the mind dwells on the body acts on.

When tempting thoughts knock on the door of my mind, I try to remember to pray a very simple prayer, “Jesus, help. Jesus help,” until the “door knocker” goes away.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to learn how to guard my thought life, and to concentrate on noble thoughts that lead to noble living and noble deeds. Help me to appreciate the fact that your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Thank you for your word to me today and for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Philippians 4:8 (NIV).

Don Johnson of Afterglow wrote, “In ancient China, the people desired security from the barbaric hordes to the north, so they built the great Chinese wall. It was so high they knew no one could climb over it and so thick that nothing could break it down. They settled back to enjoy their security. During the first hundred years of the wall’s existence China was invaded three times. Not once did the barbaric hordes break down the wall or climb over the top. Each time they bribed a gatekeeper and then marched right through the gates. The Chinese were so busy relying upon the walls of stone that they forgot to teach integrity to their children.”²

Integrity means keeping your word, being faithful to your commitments, doing an honest day’s work, not doing in the dark what you would never be caught doing in the light. It’s being loyal, trustworthy, and faithful. It means being true to yourself and honest with others, being genuine, authentic, and real, faithful, trustworthy, and loyal.

Our individual lives and our families will not be saved by personal power, wealth, education, popularity, nor beauty, but by integrity and our trust in the Lord. Neither will our nation be saved by the power and might of our military nor our brilliant technical warfare. In the long run we will only be saved by our integrity and our trust in the Lord, for “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me as an individual to always maintain integrity, and help us as a nation to realize the tremendous importance of maintaining integrity. And grant that we will be forever reminded that ‘blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 33:12,16-19 (NIV).
2. Afterglow, www.afterglow.org.

Interestingly enough, where I grew up (quite a few years ago now), in our grade school English classes every story we read had a moral, and over the door of every class room was written a motto such as, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might,”² that was quoted from the Bible. We were also taught the importance of keeping one’s word. In fact, a man’s word was his honor. It was a mark of character!

Furthermore, every week during school hours students had to attend a religious instruction class of their choice. One had to have a letter from one’s parents if he/she were to be excused from attending.

But where have those values gone today? Cheating in school is the norm for far too many students. Recently we heard on TV how one teacher failed a student whom she caught cheating on her final exam. The cheater’s parents were so outraged that this teacher was forced to resign! Teaching at Harvard Business School several years ago, Chuck Colson noted that the students didn’t have a clue about ethics. Hence we reap results such as the Enron debacle. And millions, at least in the Western world, are spending millions every year on getting rid of wrinkles and the like because they are much more concerned with their external image and appearance than inner character.

It seems for many that we have forgotten that character counts!

According to the organization, Character Counts, “The Six Pillars of Character are: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship,” to which we could add a seventh, personal honesty.

Don Johnson, author and producer of “Afterglow,” wrote, “Financier J. P. Morgan once commented that a man’s best collateral is his character. Alfred Armand Montapert said, ‘Reputation is what folks think you are. Personality is what you seem to be. Character is what you really are.’ House Speaker, Jim Wright, upon his resignation, quoted Horace Greely who stated, ‘Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wings, those who cheer today may curse tomorrow, only one thing endures—character.’ Charles Spurgeon wrote, ‘A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you, and were helped by you, will remember you when forget-me-nots are withered. Carve your name on hearts, and not on marble.’

“Someone has said ‘character is what you’d do if you knew no one would ever find out.’ I like Samuel Smiles words, ‘Sow a thought and you reap an act, sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character, sow a character and you reap a destiny.’”³

Whether we believe it or not, character does count—for time and, if you are a Christian, for eternity!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to always remember that character counts and help me to so live that my life will always bring glory and praise to your name. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Romans 5:3-4 (NIV).
2. Ecclesiastes 9:10.
3. Afterglow, www.afterglow.org

“Max Lucado, in his book, In the Grip of Grace, tells of his boyhood days when he and his friends would gather on the street each afternoon to play football. One dad in the neighborhood, a die-hard football buff, would sometimes join them. This dad always played for whichever team was losing that day. Max Lucado writes, ‘His appearance in the huddle changed the whole ball game. He was confident, strong, and most of all, he had a plan.’ The kids, fired up by his leadership and emboldened by his plan, played with new determination.

“Lucado makes the point that Jesus did the same thing for us. He came to join the losing team, and his appearance in the game changed everything. He was a leader who inspired hope, confidence, courage, and love in his disciples. And he had a plan, a plan so outrageous and amazing that no one, not even his disciples, truly understood it at first. But they trusted him as their leader, and so they followed. And now all of Jesus’ followers can be sure that we are going to win this game in the end.”

On January 8, 1956, five young men, Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Pete Fleming, and Roger Younderian died in the prime of life as they were seeking to take the gospel to the Woarani [Auca: meaning “savage”] Indians of Ecuador. They were all slain by the very tribe to whom they were seeking to bring the saving message of Jesus Christ.

And even though they all lost their lives, the words of Jim Elliot, the pilot of the five martyred missionaries, are as real today as they were the day Jim said them: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” This is because all who are on Jesus’ team will ultimately and eternally win, for Jesus Christ is still and always will be King of kings and Lord of lords, the Creator of the universe, the Great Creator who became our Savior.

Suggested prayer, “Thank you God for your great salvation and that, no matter what my circumstances are today, knowing that I am a child of yours and on your team, in the end I will win forever and forever. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 John 5:11-14 (NIV).