INTRODUCTION
The Greek word from which our word “character” originated signified a sharp-pointed instrument or engraving tool. Much of this first meaning is implied in the word as we use it, for is not character the means by which each of us makes his impression on the world? Someone has said, “To be sure, the instrument itself is not a finished product, it is a mere tool; but, like many a fine instrument, character improves with use. Our actions and reactions temper the blade and make the edge powerful or impotent. Each must forge his own character, each must be responsible for keeping it in condition, each must be responsible for its results.”
Someone has well stated that “Character is who we are when no one else is looking.”
Here are some other quotes about character:
In great matters men show themselves as they wish to be seen, in small matters, as they are. ~Gamaliel Bradford
Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones. ~Phillips Brooks
Character is much better kept than recovered. ~Thomas Paine
Character is not made in crisis – it is only exhibited. ~Freeman.
Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are. ~John Wooden, former coach, UCLA Bruins basketball
As Christians, our character is especially important, for our character is not only who we are, it represents who we are in Christ. As redeemed members of God’s family, our character must reflect that of Christ, our example. If Christians are not known for their uprightness of character, then how are we different from anyone else?
In today’s world, it is difficult to stand for what is right and to exhibit good character. Yet that is precisely what we are called by God to do. The world should know us by our character, for our character should stand out from all the rest.
BACKGROUND
Our continuing series on Unlikely Heroes brings us today to a man well known in the Bible. His name is David. Again, we discover that this man really did not begin his life as the hero type. What we know about David was that he was from the small, unimportant, sleepy little village called Bethlehem. He did not have the privilege of being the oldest son of the family, which would have provided him much prestige and power. No, he was the youngest of the family. As such, he was a simple shepherd and musician. While his older brothers were off fighting the Philistines with King Saul, he was whiling away the days in charge of smelly sheep and strumming on his lyre.
But there is an important element we discover about David as we review his life. He had an attribute that God was looking for in men: character. That is the reason why David stands out as the greatest king in Israel’s history. In contrast to the one king who preceded him and the other kings who would descend from him, David's character was commended by God. God declared him to be “a man after my heart.” That designation is used of no other man in the Word of God!
We have 2 texts I want to read for today. I am going to ask you to turn to the first one, 1 Samuel 13:14, which we will read. Then I will read our second text, Acts 13:22, to you. READ: 1 Samuel 13:14.
Acts 13:22 – “And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’”
I find in Scripture three reasons why David was a man of character.
I. He Waited on God
David began his life in such simple circumstances that one would wonder if he would be noticed. Out on the backside of the range with the sheep is not exactly a social club!
But there David did learn one important lesson. He learned to wait on God. In the schoolroom of nature itself, David uncovered the character of God.
While the smells and sounds of tending sheep could drive someone mad, David found it was the perfect arena in which to place all things with His God and to discover the peace that God gives. It was there that he could lay his burden down and allow God to pick it up. It was there that he could sing praises to the One who created him. It was there that he could learn just who his God was.
In doing this, David learned to let God develop his character. Perhaps this is shown in his life most brightly after the failure of King Saul. David, already anointed as the next king, could have easily usurped His authority and taken over the kingdom. But he waited on God to work for him and to do so in His timing.
Why was this so important? Because it helped build his character. Understanding and knowing God more intimately draws us closer to Him and refines us to become more like Him, waiting on Him to develop our character.
The many psalms authored by David project a life of waiting on God and of a growing intimacy with Him. David had a heart that was pointed toward God. In Psalm 25:21, David said, “May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.”
A Quaker lady was once asked the secret of her beautiful complexion. Her answer revealed the close, intimate relationship she developed in time spent with her Lord. She said, “I use truth for my lips; for my voice, prayer; for my eyes, pity; for my hands, charity; for my figure, uprightness; and for my heart, love.”
How are you building your character today? It is not built reading books, watching television, or staying busy in the many activities afforded us. Rather it is perfected through a close personal relationship with God as we learn to wait on Him!
Another reason why David was a man of character was …
II. He Followed God’s Will (Acts 13:22)
When the people wanted a king, God gave them one. God always knew He would give the people a king, for it had been prophesied that the kingdom of God would be established through Israel. But the people’s clamoring for one caused the Lord to give them what they wanted, a king of their choosing. So, God chose to give them Saul. Saul was never intended to be the one through whom the kingdom would be built because he was from the tribe of Benjamin. Prophesy said it would come through the tribe of Judah.
While Saul was the people’s choice, he proved to have one major character flaw: He was disobedient. This is exactly what the High Priest Samuel told him in 1 Samuel 13:14-15. God knew the character of Saul but allowed him to serve as king for a time.
David, on the other hand, God knew to have the kind of character He wanted. According to Acts 13:22, David was a man willing to be obedient to the will of God. Apparently, this was the trait that truly showed him to be a man of character.
David learned to obey from an early age. He obediently kept his father’s flock, and then dutifully took food to his soldier brothers at the battlefront. He tried to obey his king, Saul, when Saul told him he needed armor on to fight Goliath, only to realize it was not the tools he needed. Submissively he played his lyre for the king. He obeyed Saul further by fighting and defeating Israel’s enemies.
In a thorough study of the life of David as King of Israel, you will notice his complete willingness to follow God. Before major engagements with his enemies, He always sought God’s will. Unlike his predecessor, David desired to be obedient and to do as the Lord commanded him.
A slave boy, on the auctioneer’s block, was approached by a kind-hearted man who asked him: “If I buy you and take you to a beautiful home, would you be obedient to those in authority over you?” The slave boy answered: “Sir, I will be obedient to those in authority over me whether you buy me or not.”
God needs people of character who are true to their word and will do whatever he wills them to do. God help us to be such people!
A third reason David was a man of character was …
III. He Repented in Failure (Psalm 51 & 32)
Though David exhibited great character much of his life, there were times that, like us, he failed and sinned against God. His most well-known sin was his infidelity with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband. It was perhaps his greatest single lapse of character. Yet in this time of failure, his good character showed through in his repentance and sorrow for his act.
David, I am sure, knew the wrongness of his actions as he committed them. But when God sent Nathan the prophet to stick his bony finger in his face and confront him with his sin, David immediately repented. Again, I believe this revealed his character and demonstrated David’s heart for God.
In Psalm 51, his psalm of confession of this sin, David writes, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you … The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
After he had received God’s forgiveness, he wrote Psalm 32, in which He proclaimed, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit … I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”
True character is revealed as much in our failures and how we respond to them as it is in everyday life. As God’s people, we must repent of our sins and find God’s forgiveness, in the process revealing, like David, our character even in failure.
The famous newspaperman, Horace Greely, once wrote:
Fame is a vapor,
Popularity an accident.
Riches take wings.
Only one thing endures,
Character.
Does your character shine through every aspect of your life, especially in your failures? It will if you are repentant in those failures and seek the forgiveness of God, and then, with God’s help, become a better and stronger person.
CONCLUSION
Society in India is made up of castes, or classes based on societal status. A high caste Indian gentleman, interested in Lucknow Christian College in India, brought his son to this school for education. He was reminded of the fact that the boy would lose caste if he came there and studied the Bible with the other students. The father, an example of the new India, promptly gave this courageous reply: “I would rather have my son lose caste and save his character than have him save his caste and lose his character.”
Christian, what is the content of your character? Do you wait on God, allowing Him to develop you into the person He desires? Are you willing to do whatever the Lord wills in your life? Do you seek forgiveness for your sins through repentance and sorrow?
The content of our character is seen every day we live. Someone is looking at you as a hero – do they see the godly character God requires?
