Reputation vs. Character

This past weekend we discussed the final “F” in the Man of God series: faithful. The Greek word has the understanding of someone who has been won over, who has been totally persuaded to the point of willingness to obey. The word faithful means to be trustworthy, it means to be dependable to do what God says to do in His Word.

Let’s think about our reputation. All of us have a reputation. What’s yours? Are you a “hot-head”, a “laid-back individual”, a “loving, peaceful person”, a “no-nonsense kind of guy?” Maybe your reputation is a “quiet” person or a “loud” person. Whatever it is, your reputation is what you want people to THINK you are. Conversely, your character is what God KNOWS you are! Big difference. We all have a reputation at the workplace, at church, at the gym; but who we are when no one is around, who we are when we are in the privacy of our homes – that’s our character. Your faithfulness to Christ points directly to your character.

This character reflecting faithfulness starts with the little things.

“Whoever can be trusted (faithful) with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” – Luke 16:10

Are you holding a grudge against someone? Are you angry at someone? The Word of God says in Ephesians 4:26 to never go to sleep angry at anyone. We must deal with these issues, and if we don’t, we are not dependable to do what the Word of God says to do – NOT FAITHFUL! What types of words come out of your mouth when [fill in the blank] isn’t around? How did you fill out that federal tax form or that state assistance form last quarter? Your dependability to do what God’s Word says do starts with the “little” things.

Your faithfulness in the little things – that’s your character. It’s what your family knows about you. It’s what happens when you are sitting there watching the television and something immoral comes on. It’s what goes on when you are by yourself. It’s what goes on in your thoughts.

And the word is dependable, not perfect. Sometimes it is after the failure in your life that your faithfulness (character) is seen. What do you do when you mess up?

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9

God’s Word lists the instructions for after we fall. Confess – to agree with God about your sin. To look at what you did just like God does. Like King David after being approached by the Prophet Nathan. Are you dependable to the Word of God after a failure?
Now this character trait doesn’t come from us.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness..." – Galatians 5:22

Only those who have the Spirit of God in them can be faithful. How about you? Can God count on you in the little things? Can God trust you? Are you faithful? How’s your character?

God's House vs. The White House...

Gladiators, I take a moment and step away from our normal weekly bible study review to draw your attention to a recent development that has long-term ramifications on what God has established, and on what, as Men of God, we need to be geared up for. I preface this with this statement: in every issue, topic, conversation, ideology, etc., we need to absolutely represent God’s Biblical View! That’s it, not how I feel or what’s “fair”, but what God’s Kingdom view is as laid out in God’s Kingdom View Manual – the Word of God, the Bible.

This month, our President Barack Obama, has officially proclaimed June as “National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.” In this press briefing (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-LGBT-Pride-Month/) the President stated how his administration was committed to the “[advancing] of a wide range of [LGBT] initiatives.” To put this in Biblical perspective, the President has taken a perverse, abnormal sexual behavior, an abomination to God, a stench in God’s nostrils, a sin – and proclaimed a National Month to relish in their “pride”.

As Men of God, we need to take a stand for the family. This perverse, abnormal sexual sin destroys the family. God designed the family to be one man and one woman consummating their covenant before God in producing a child. It is the DNA, the genetic structure of civilization. If you don’t have that you don’t have civilization, so you are striking it at the very core of civilization. It overturns God’s fundamental design for human relationships. What has happened is that this abomination, this perverse, abnormal sexual sin is being treated as a non-sin – even in the church!

Those who participate in this perverse, abnormal sex act are so bent on to ridding themselves of any guilt, so bent on releasing and freeing themselves from any assessment that they are sinning – that they are promoting and selling their perversion as if it’s normal throughout this nation, starting with little kids in schools, TV , movies, etc. And now the highest office of the land has proclaimed this month to “bask in the pride of their perversion.”

Satan’s goal from the Garden of Eden was to get us NOT to look at things how God sees them. God said if you eat the fruit you will die, Satan said if you eat the fruit you won’t “surely die”. Do we bash those who participate in these perverse, abnormal sex acts? Do we harm or abuse them? No! Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 that, “of such were some of you”. Christ’s love and His blood are extended to all.

It doesn’t matter what the sin is, Christ has provided forgiveness, salvation, and the hope of eternal life to those who repent and embrace the gospel.

But we need to get to the point where we call sin, sin.

Why am I so disturbed with this? Well, I can’t recall when any President has declared a day to celebrate sin. There is no National Murderer’s Month, or National Pedophile Month or National Lying Month. Men, let’s make sure we represent God on every issue, influence those around us to represent God on every issue, and fight for this thing called The Family.

Aggressive Meditations - Joshua 1:8

Success! Webster defines success as, a “favorable or desired outcome”, also as “the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence (a position of prominence or superiority).” The world has its plans and paths to success; get a degree from a big time school, diversify your financial portfolio, work 30 hours a day, etc. But our memory verse for this month makes it plan and simple.

“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” – Joshua 1:8

Prosperous is:

• to accelerate the growth or progress of
• to raise to a higher rank
• to bring forward for notice or consideration

Success is:

• the ability to govern/discipline oneself by using reason
• level-headedness in the management of affairs
• skill and good judgment in the use of resources
• caution or alerness as to danger or risk

So you wanna be prosperous and successful in life, at your job, in your relationships, in your marriage, as a father, financially, physically, spiritually? Easy, meditate on the Bible day and night! No conferences from famed motivational speakers, no seminars from multi-millionaire philanthropists, just meditate on the pure Word of God.

The word meditate used here isn’t this mystical, mind-emptying chanting. It’s the word used to describe a cow chewing the cud. A cow eats its food, digests it, then regurgitates it (brings it back up from its stomach to its mouth) and chews it again repeating this process over and over. Dairy cows spend almost eight hours a day chewing their cuds! To meditate on God’s Word means to “chew” it up over and over again. “Digesting” it, then bring it back up to chew again. It’s an aggressive absorption of the Word of God.

Your success in all aspects of your life is a direct reflection on your aggressive absorption of the Word of God!

Why are you constantly experiencing broken/failed relationships? Why is your marriage so difficult? Why can’t you focus and concentrate on what you’re supposed to? Why can’t you stop that terrible habit/addiction? Why does it seem like nothing ever goes right in your life? I challenge you to evaluate your aggressive absorption of the Word of God!