Does Character Really Matter Anymore?

There is a debate going on right now in our culture and the church about the value of a person’s character. A popular view contends that it simply doesn’t matter who a person is. What we say or do in our personal life is of no consequence. All that matters is our conduct on the job.

This view assumes that people are compartmental. What happens in one area of life has no bearing on any other area of life. If so, it would certainly make things cleaner.

Is It True?

But is it true? Does a woman’s untreated depression in her personal life have no effect on her professional life? Would a man’s abusive behavior at home never show up at his workplace?

Although we often try to box up one part of our lives to keep it separate, over time, it spills out – everywhere. Beloved comedian Bill Cosby and former film producer Harvey Weinstein are painful examples. Inevitably, what’s in us comes out.    

North Star

In contrast, others claim character matters immensely. They see it as a non-negotiable North star that leads us to someone we can trust.

In their view, we either consciously or unconsciously search for it all the time. We look for it in potential spouses and employers, in pastors and church leaders. We use it as a measuring stick to pick a car mechanic, a doctor or a president. If we have kids, we certainly want to raise them with it. In fact, many parents pick a school on whether they have character-based education.

Fuzzy

Although much of this still holds true, the lines between these two views have gotten fuzzy in recent years. Character has lost its shine. It’s become elusive. Many people think others should have it, but few can really define it.

We only know it reverse, when character is not there. Callous and greedy drug company executives who pushed fentanyl to gain sky high profits didn’t show much of it. As a result of their actions, 75,000 Americans die from fentanyl overdoses per year. People who loot homes and stores after devastating hurricanes don’t display it. Students who drop out every time a class gets hard have a lack of it.

On some level, it’s hard to argue against the value of character. The human, economic and societal toll of living without it is staggering.

What Is It?

But what is real character? Let me take a shot at it by describing a series of contrasts. Author and Methodist Pastor E.M. Bounds said,

       Conduct is what you do. Character is who you are.

We live in a personality-driven culture. Due primarily to TV, movies and social media, we venerate a whole class of people known as celebrities. Jason Kelce, once known as a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, is a newly minted celebrity better known these days for dating Taylor Swift, a mega celebrity. As could only happen in America, he’s now hosting a new game show, “Are you smarter than a celebrity?” Because we all know that being on TV makes you smart.

But beneath all the hype and the glitz is the real person – who that person is when the cameras turn off and no one is looking.

Although Jesus cautions us not to make snap judgments about others, he does encourage us to be fruit inspectors.

No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit.

  Luke 6:43 (NRSVUE)

The fruit is what a tree naturally produces over time. Jesus says the fruit will tell what we need to know about the root every time.

Susceptible

Character is not to be confused with success or achievements.

We are so susceptible to success. Our culture tries to lead and move people by an individual’s achievements, dazzling us with money or fame or power. If the celebrity says the right words and provides the right image, we can easily be hooked by the sheen of their story. But these outward techniques lose their influence over time when the true motivation is self-serving or contradicts the message.

There is no direct correlation between success and character. How many “successful” pastors, businesspeople and entertainers have proven this sad truth? In fact, outward success often covers up inward failings.

The Bedrock

       Character cannot be faked.

You and I can learn how to win friends and influence people. We can dress for success and try to control what other people think of us. We might have a wonderful personality that we put on for the whole world to see. But we cannot fake our character.

When a pastor friend of mine did a study on this topic, he found that personality comes from the Greek work, persona. It literally means façade. It is a term from the Greek theater where they used different masks for the various characters in a play.

However, character is a Latin word which literally means, chiseled in stone. Character is the bedrock of our soul. What we say and do, the way we typically act, springs from our character, who we really are underneath everything else. Jesus put it this way,                                      

For it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.   

Luke 6:45 (NRSVUE)

We cannot continually behave on a level that is inconsistent with our character. Again, what’s in us eventually comes out. If we hang around people long enough, we will see how they react in a crack of their life, an unguarded moment. In that crack, we get a window into a person’s character.

Our Greatest Need

To be honest, I believe our culture is not primarily in need of more intelligent people or talented people or creative people or skilled people. Our greatest need is people with deeper character. Our world is begging for real people who stand by their word, who are willing to sacrifice for what is right, who genuinely care for others, and use whatever power they have not for themselves but for the good of others.

How does a person develop that kind of character? I’ll talk about that next week.

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