IN PURSUIT OF CHARACTER II

“Character is a by-product; it is produced in the great manufacture of daily duty.” - Woodrow Wilson

The subject matter of character isn’t one that should be taken lightly at all. However, Character isn’t found on trees, it is built over time. According to Woodrow Wilson, “…it is produced in the great manufacture of daily duty,” it requires a conscious decision to develop. Character is at the heart of advancement and growth; personal or organizational. Hear what some notable personalities have to say about character. Calvin Coolidge said, “We do not need more knowledge, we need more character!” Then D.L. Moody had this to say, “Character is what you are in the dark."

According to Jerry Flint in Forbes, W. Michael Blumenthal, chairman of Unisys, talks about the mistakes he made in hiring: In choosing people for top positions, you have to try to make sure they have a clear sense of what is right and wrong, a willingness to be truthful, the courage to say what they think and to do what they think is right, even if the politics militate against that. This is the quality that should really be at the top. I was too often impressed by the intelligence and substantive knowledge of an individual and did not always pay enough attention to the question of how honest,

THE GIFT OF MONEY 27; WEALTH OR COVETOUSNESS?

"When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost." - Billy Graham 

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. He was regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as "the King of Rock and Roll", or simply, "the King". At his death he had three jets, two Cadillacs, a Rolls Royce, a Lincoln Continental, two station wagons, a jeep, a custom touring bus and three motorcycles. His Cadillac limo top was covered with pearl-white Naugahyde, and the body was sprayed with 40 coats of special paint containing crushed diamonds. Nearly all the metal trim was plated in 18 - carat gold. It was equipped with two gold-flake telephones, a gold vanity case containing a gold electric razor and gold hair clippers, an electric shoe buffer, a gold-plated TV, a record player, amplifier, air conditioner and electrical system for operating any kind of household appliance, and a refrigerator capable of making ice in 2 minutes. When Elvis Presley came to the end of his life, he died a lonely and unhappy man. Why?

It's ironic how life is; the things we think will satisfy us does not, and what God says will satisfy us we ignore. That's why Presley died lonely. He ignored the important things. It is very possible to be wealthy and still be very godly. Some of God’s outstanding people were wealthy. Very wealthy; Abraham, Joseph (he was second to Pharaoh in Egypt), Job was wealthy before his trials and even more wealthy after them. He was the wealthiest man in the east. Covetousness destroys any possibility of God’s gifts working in our lives. Covetousness and God’s blessing cannot both abide together

WHOSE FAULT I

"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future." - John F. Kennedy

In relationships every time, I often wonder why no sooner than a couple gets together they start having irreconcilable differences. It blows my mind to pieces and I'm like "what in God's green earth happened?" I read some time ago that, "until blame transfer stops, character building doesn't start". Is it surprising to discover that it's so easy for us to assume the next person is the problem? It's got to be the other person. It's either the way to look at me, or the way they talk to me. They are either too bossy or too full of themselves. They never take correction. They are so insensitive, so unromantic, so boring...the list is endless.

Here's a story. "My husband is an Engineer, I love him for his steady nature, and I love the warm feeling when I lean against his broad shoulders. We courted three years and now, two years into marriage, I would have to admit, that I am tired of it. The reasons of me loving him before, have all now seemed to have evaporated.