Character (Part 2): Building A Character House
As I read that excerpt, I can’t help but thinking that we are building today the character houses we’ll live in tomorrow; that what each of us will become later in life largely depends on what we are now. J.C. Ryle (1816-1900) wrote in his book, Thoughts For Young Men, “Youth is the seed-time of full age, the molding season in the little space of human life, the turning-point in the history of man’s mind.” Are we taking that seriously?I had never heard Mother’s voice like that, and I had never heard her call Father “Charles.” I thought my heart would pound itself to pieces while she was telling him what I had done. Hard as Father could spank, he never hurt me so much with a stick as he did when Mother stopped talking. He cleared his throat, and then he didn’t make a sound for at least two full minutes.
When he spoke, his voice was deep and dry, and I knew he must have been coughing a lot on the way home. “Son, there is no question but what the thing you have done today deserves severe punishment. You might have killed yourself or the horse, but much worse than that, you have injured your own character. A man’s character is like his house. If he tears boards off his house and burns them to keep himself warm and comfortable, his house soon becomes a ruin. A man with a ruined character is a shame on the face of the earth.”
~ LITTLE BRITCHES, BY RALPH MOODY ~
We must understand that there’s a tsunami of “advances” coming that will profoundly damage all but the sturdiest character houses. We’ve got to be working now so that when the wave comes, we’re ready for it. Robert Freeman once said, “Character is not made in a crisis—it is only exhibited.” The crisis is coming, what we need to ask ourselves is, “What kind of character will this crisis reveal? Am I strong enough to resist sin? Am I consistent in saying no to temptation? Or do I only get by when there is nothing there to tempt me?”
Remember, the time is coming where it will become more and more difficult to avoid sin and more and more necessary to develop the strength of character to resist it, fight it, and conquer it.
The landscape is changing rapidly. We must turn to God and plead with Him to grant us the grace to strengthen our character now, before it’s too late. What would you think of a soldier who decided to learn to operate his AK-47 on the battlefield? Or of the parents that wanted to teach their baby to walk on a tightrope? You’d think they were crazy, right? But are you hoping to do something equally extraordinary by putting off the development of your character until you’re in the middle of the storm?
It is now that we must become acquainted with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is now that we must make the Bible our intimate guide and adviser. It is now that we must get a clear picture of the evil of sin. If we don’t get serious about these things today it won’t happen. Do not underestimate the power of habit—especially the habits of youth.
J.C. Ryle put it well when he said, “Habits are like stones rolling downhill, the further they roll, the faster and more uncontrollable is their course. Habits, like trees, are strengthened by age. A boy may bend an oak, when it is a sapling. A hundred men cannot root it up, when it is a full-grown tree.”
The prophet Jeremiah made the same point when he asked, “Can the Ethopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may you also do good, who are accustomed to do evil.”
If you can get anything out of this post, please, come away believing that you will become what you are and that you will live in the character house you build today. It will never be easier to serve God than it is right now.
In Christ, Brett Harris
Continue to “Rebelutionary, Meet Your Commander-In-Chief”
August 18th, 2005 at 3:49 pm
It’s interesting that not only do we become what we are….but we become what we focus on, whatever is foremost in our minds eye. Now, I don’t think it does many of us any good to make a list of what not to look at. As Oscar Wilde said, “I can resist anything…but temptation,” and to label something with a prohibition is to set up an flashing-neon enticement. However we should be careful to actually see the thing we are surrounded with, and not just passively look at them. We can’t just accept the images, opinions and ideas that are thrown at us from the whirlwind of our media-rich world — from billboards and pop-ups to books and movies. They have to be examined and evaluated (and then accepted or discarded) so that we can become what we are called to be, and not what society wants to make us. Main-stream society does not place a premium on character. Niceness, yes. Tolerance, definitely. But not character. Since this is the case it’s up to us to be that much more vigilant in “seeing” the world around us instead of just looking.
August 18th, 2005 at 3:52 pm
Let me add that we can do it…and we will excel at it if we will turn to a higher standard than ourselves.
August 18th, 2005 at 6:56 pm
Just stumbled across your blog and Alex’s. Interesting posts.
August 18th, 2005 at 9:39 pm
In the old movie “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town” staring Gary Cooper, Mr. Deeds inherits His rich uncle’s estate. Being from a very small town and being poor His whole life not knowing how to manage large sums of money He is all of the sudden burned with the responsibility of His uncle’s finances. As shrewd business men and other advisers try to swindle Him out of His money Mr. Deeds knowing nothing about such things was able to set everything strait because of His character. He knew how to handle the crooks not because He knew there evil ways but because He knew the right way.
Then there is Molly Pitcher who served her husband and other men on the battle field. Her husband was killed while firing His cannon and Molly picked up the ram rod and continuing to keep the cannon firing saving the battle. What was it about her that gave her the knowledge and strength to keep going after knew her husband to die? It was character!
What about Job of the Bible? How was He able to stand the trail God was calling Him to suffer through? The answer is character.
I don’t mean to say what you already have said I just want to say, “Amen!”
April 9th, 2006 at 7:04 pm
My mom and younger brother read the “Little Britches” series together a year or so ago, and ever since then my parents have used the illustration of building up the “character house” in family discussions. Its a great word picture of what we should be working on now, and not planning to do “later” when we reach adulthood.
Great re-post!
April 9th, 2006 at 7:51 pm
This is so true! And many of us are, sadly, inadequately prepared for the deluge that awaits. We need to be strong in little things now, so that when we need to be strong in big things, we’re ready.
April 10th, 2006 at 1:42 am
When armor is forged hastily it is nearly useless. Armor that will withstand inumerable attacks has been forged by fires of incredible heat, and shaped by blow after blow of the sledge only to be returned to the fire and then bludgened some more. The more times it returns to these two forces the harder it becomes to break or pierce it. Tempering isn’t a fun process - not for either the steel or the smithy. The heat is excrutiating, the blows wrought by steel upon steel reverberate both up your arm and in your ears, and the blackend skin and metal aren’t a pleasant sight. The nobility comes in one form. The foresight of the craftsman. He knows that if the process were to be cut short, so would the life under the armor’s protection on a battlefield. And so he labors on for a purpose yet to be seen, with a belief that what he accomplishes in the forge’s fires will insure survival in the intense heat of the battles it will face.
April 10th, 2006 at 5:22 am
That’s a good way of putting it. I never really thought about it in that light. Thanks.
April 10th, 2006 at 5:40 pm
I find that only bad habits are easily formed. The good ones take time, determination, and a humble heart continually asking the Lord for help and guidance.
April 10th, 2006 at 7:42 pm
Deeapaulitan: Excellent analogy! Thank you for reading and for your wonderful contribution to the discussion.
Elizabeth: Yes! Exactly. That’s why Jesus says “wide is the path, and easy the way that leads to destruction” but that “the way is hard that leads to righteousness, and few find it.”
April 11th, 2006 at 8:57 am
Hi! My name is Doris, and I attended your Rebelution conference in California this past March. Although I’ve been to your blog before, I never actually took the time to say thank you! Thank you guys so much for letting God use you in such an awesome way…I needed to be there, and God brought my whole family to the right place at the right time. To make a long story…long, :):
My dad had wanted all of us to go, but everyone in my family had other plans and we hadn’t even signed up. God laid it on my dad’s heart that this was really an event that He wanted us to attend, so my dad asked that we find a way to cancel our plans and make it there. Little did we know, in one day ALL of our plans for March 11th were soon canceled, and we called the registration and found that there were some open spots at the conference!
The devil didn’t want my God to win though…I woke up with an eye infection, a sore throat, and a bad headache. Again, my dad expressed to me how God laid it on his heart that our family should attend, and that we should not let the devil triumph. I decided to obey my dad. Then, our car broke down and didn’t work–so we ended up having to take my dad’s crowded work van. THEN we got lost on our way up there! We had to stop for a while because my dad didn’t know where he was going, and we spent so much time there that we almost decided to turn back. Well, I looked out the window and noticed we were stuck on Faith Street. I love how God works. My dad figured it out and we got there in time. God truly is amazing!
I took pages and pages of notes, and I was really blessed by your speeches and your passion for God. I have a habit of going to such conferences, getting all pumped up about God and doing “hard things”, and then getting down low and discouraged again. God has used you two to keep me up, and through you God has also spoken to me with a command to memorize more scripture.
You must have been told already by many of your fans : ) that God has great plans for you– and indeed He does! But remember not to let pride get in the way– keep your love for God pure and His love and truth the focus of your life.
God bless you! I hope to be honored again to hear you speak next year.
Your sister in Christ,
Doris
April 11th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
“Sow a thought,
Reap an act;
Sow an act,
Reap a habit;
Sow a habit,
Reap a character;
Sow a character,
Reap a destiny.”
I learned that last year at Holiday Camp…and I’ve kept it in my head to remind me that building a good character is very important.
Thanks for your post!
November 11th, 2011 at 10:12 pm
I wrote it. It comes with a new
February 16th, 2012 at 9:35 am
Thank you for the great info! I would never have gotten this by myself!