2 Peter 1:5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,
Faith is not just what a person believes, it’s a person’s way of life. Our faith influences our behavior and behavior stems from character. Behavior is what we show on the outside, the way we express ourselves externally and react for others to see. Character is innate, so we can only know a person’s character by their actions. The opening scripture admonishes us to add certain things to our faith. This means faith is not a stand-alone concept and for others to see my faith, there must be certain attributes I demonstrate. One of such attributes in the scripture which happens to be the first mentioned is virtue, also known as character.
Character development is very important to God. He does not have a problem blessing us. His only concern is our becoming like Christ, which is changing our nature so we have the character of Christ. A lot of people are in church because of what they can get from God but God is interested in who we become. Because what we will do with the blessings He has prepared for us is dependent on our character – who we are. If our character is not worked on, the blessings would magnify our bad habits and destroy us. So, for instance, a person who lusts after women secretly will now be able to get many women because he now has what it takes to attract many of them. (wealth, fame, etc.) In order for us not to be crushed or destroyed when the blessings come, God has to take us through a process of preparation and this is the aspect a lot of people don’t like. No wonder many people want shortcuts.
It is often said that until a person has power, position, or skill, we can’t conclude that he or she is humble. If your position, achievements, and fame don’t change who you used to be, then you are humble. A lot of poor people are humble but wait till they buy a car, or house, or become influential and the whole world would see that they have arrived. Usually, people would think the person has changed. No. That has been their character all this while. Poverty just hid who they really were.
Character building is necessary because good success is built on the foundation of a good character.
Remember the good success that was mentioned in Joshua 1:8? Because there is a bad success. Bad success will end in sorrow. The blessing of the Lord makes rich and adds no sorrow to it. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
A person may achieve so much and get to a place of authority but the absence of character would take them back to where they used to be. Ever heard of rich and famous people who got arrested for certain crimes later in their lives? That’s it. Fame without character is actually very dangerous. Reputation and character are two different things. Reputation is what people think we are but character is who we really are when no one is watching. Character encapsulates integrity, honesty, and faithfulness. The questions posed by these factors are: Would you do the right thing even when no human is watching? Can you be faithful when God blesses you or you’d despise God when the blessings come? And Would you remain truthful in every circumstance?
Love for money is a major thing to deal with when it comes to character. This is because if you place money on such a high pedestal, you may easily do evil just to have it in abundance. 1 Tim. 6:10 says “For the love of money is the root of all evil“. Money is not evil but the love for it may drive people into doing things that would cause hurt to others. In the journey to a godly character, God wants to see in us, the ability to have control over money and not the other way.
Change is one thing that is bound to happen in life. We are usually unhappy about change because it takes us out of our comfort zone but that is where the real character development begins. People want change but don’t want to change. I mean they want their finances, marriage, academics, career, and spiritual lives to progress but are unwilling to put the habit transformation that is necessary for those aspirations to work. In Romans 12:2, the Bible says “Do not conform to the standards of this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…”. The way we behave is determined by the way we think so attitude or character is a function of the mind. And our attitude[the way we behave] determines our altitude[how high we go]. For a good character change, there must be a change of vision, mind, instincts, knowledge, practices, and commitments.
When we receive Christ as our personal Savior, God begins to work in us. Nobody is born fully grown, so God has to build our Christian character. Philippians 1:6 He that has begun a good work in you would bring it to perfect completion on the day of Christ’s return. 1 Peter 2:5 also says; you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Hence, we are a work-in-progress that can only be completed when we allow God.