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As a man thinketh in his heart...
The rest of that scripture says . . . so is he! Proverbs 23:7. Who does that make you, then? How have you been thinking throughout your lifetime? What do you think is your most proud accomplishment? Your response to these questions will be helpful in determining what you think about. Hopefully, you have been reading through God’s word and can answer in a godly way. Let’s explore how one should think about his or her character, according to scripture.
Acts 17:11. Now, the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. The Bereans’ character was determined by their willingness to know what the Holy Spirit said. Their searching of God’s word is what proved their noble character and as they emulated it, they were regarded as people whose light shined brighter. Do you share in this quality of good character? Are you proud of your character?
1 Corinthians 15:33. Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character. We can be diligent in the Word, but it takes just one bad person in our life to be the ruin of our good character. An evil spouse, coworker or friend can easily become a downfall or thorn in the flesh. Consequently, we have to careful of the associations we choose. Are you careful to keep good company? Can you remember any instance where good or bad advice impacted your life?
Romans 5:3. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. We see from this passage that the character we develop though suffering produces hope within us, thus we will be more equipped to handle life and its challenges or triumphs. Not only that, but our suffering is a tool God uses to help us develop character. Do you glory in life’s challenges because of the character it produces? Think about an instance where you endured suffering, but are now a more mature person because of it.
These scriptures show us that our character is shaped by what we allow to infiltrate our spirit. How we internalize the Word, handle adversity or how we allow the influence of others to affect us, determine who we will be/are. Let’s resolve to make it our decision to be godly in all that we think, all that what we say, and even those we have as friends.
