How Do You Know if You Have Good Character?

Mike Hosey, An Elder 

It has been said that character is measured by what we do when no one is watching. There is certainly truth in such a statement. Character, after all, is largely about behavior, and how we behave when no one is watching is probably a greater reflection of who we are and what we actually believe than what we do in the midst of a church service on a Sunday morning. This is because such behavior is not biased by our fears of what others may think about us. Consider also that the statement doesn’t apply to behavior that simply happens when other people are not around. It can apply to behavior that happens in the midst of thousands of eyes. What a man of little character will allow himself to do in the middle of his church service in his hometown of High Springs may be quite different than what he allows himself to do in the streets of a pagan festival in a far-away country. The people in the far-away country may be no one to him.

But character is far more than what we do when no one is watching. It is what we consistently do when no one is watching, and it is what we consistently do when we are under pressure of sacrifice. Such consistency is a measure of whether our values are in line with our behaviors. If a man says he values honesty, but lies every time that an untruth will bring him benefit, then he does not value honesty. He values benefit. And his character needs work. When a man does something that is right, even when doing what is right will bring him pain or loss, then such a man values what is right. His character is good, and it is proven by his sacrifice. Jesus is the highest example of this. He valued the mission his father gave him -- which was to save humanity -- and he died a criminal’s death to accomplish it. His values and his character were proven by a consistent and final behavior of service.

But good character is measured by more than just our genuine internal morality, or our values consistency and their integrity under pressure of sacrifice. It is in what a person of character places his value that proves the goodness of his or her character. For instance, if a man values the acquisition of wealth, and pursues this at great sacrifice to himself and his family, and does it consistently both when people are watching and when they are not, he still does not have good character. Such a man has a greedy and selfish character.

 But consider the character of Timothy from the Bible (Philippians 2:19-22). Paul describes his character as proven because of his service to the gospel.  It was consistent enough for Paul to send him out to do gospel work. Paul then implies that his values are supremely centered on serving God! Such was Timothy's character that Paul knew no one like him.