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Character matters. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream that all men would be judged according to the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. That’s exactly right, and it speaks to the fact that character matters because it defines who you are and what you’re made of.

Character is the qualities or traits that when combined together, define your nature, your character.

God has attributes of character that define His nature as well. God is loving, forgiving, gracious and kind, He is just and righteous altogether, merciful and patient. God is good, He is faithful and true. God’s character is beautiful and glorious. And there are many more attributes that describe His nature and His character. This is important because these are the attributes of character God wants to instill in our lives, our nature, and our character.

I mentioned last week that we were not born with such character, we were born in the nature of man, in the sin of Adam. You don’t have to teach a child to be selfish, they were born selfish; you must teach a child to share. You don’t have to teach a child to lie, you must teach a child to speak the truth. You don’t have to teach a child to throw temper tantrum, you must teach a child to have self-control.

I came upon an interesting study done by the Minnesota Crime Commission, a secular institution for sure. This is the result of their in-depth study: Every baby starts life as a little savage. He is completely selfish and self-centered. He wants what he wants, when he wants it – his bottle, his mother’s attention, his playmate’s toy. Deny him these wants, and he seethes with rage and aggressiveness, which would be murderous, were he not so helpless. He is dirty. He has no morals, no knowledge, and no skills. This means that all children, not just certain children, are born delinquent. If permitted to continue in the self-centered world of his infancy, given free reign to his impulsive actions to satisfy his wants, every child will grow up a criminal, a thief, a killer, and a rapist.

In other words, a sinner is a sinner by nature. A sinner, therefore, does sinful things. In other words, a dog is a dog, a cat is a cat, a horse is a horse… unless of course…

Here’s the good news; people can change, character can change. God loves sinners and He sent His Son to seek sinners, to draw them to Himself. He loves sinners and does not want them to perish, but to have everlasting life. He calls their name, He knocks on the door of their heart, and when they open their heart, He takes up residence in that sinner’s life and begins the work of transformation, of building new character and a new heart. Character matters and character matters to God.

In 1 Samuel 18, the story continues immediately after David defeated the Philistine giant, Goliath. David’s victory is an amazing story of the power of complete faith and trust in God. “The Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.”

David then added, “that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” That’s faith.
Saul was taller than all the men in Israel, he stood head and shoulders over them. But David had greater faith than all of them. God was searching for a man to replace Saul as king of Israel. Saul was a man after the people’s heart, but David was a man after God’s heart.

Chapter 18 is about character. Saul’s son, Jonathan watched as David challenged Goliath, he heard his speech, he saw his faith and his heart was knitted to the soul of David and Jonathan loved him as himself.

We already know that Jonathan had character and faith as well. He knows good character when he sees it.

Saul on the other hand also saw David arising in Israel. The people loved him, and this made Saul seethe with jealousy. It’s a study in contrasts and it’s a study of why character matters. There are many life lessons in the story.

Pastor Rich Jones
Pastor Matthew Dodd
Rich Jones Calvary Chapel
Calvary Chapel Worship Center
Calvary Chapel Hillsboro
Calvary Chapel Oregon
Calvary Chapel Beaverton
Calvary Chapel Portland

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