Character
Lou Tiscione, Pastor, Weatherford Presbyterian Church (PCA)
A basic law of nature, concerning mankind, is actions reveal character. Character describes personal qualities. These personal qualities that inform actions reveal a person’s morals and ethics, or lack thereof.
God has revealed the standard for measuring character. The Bible provides the true definition of character. The Old Testament contains the history of men of character. The Bible also contains narratives concerning men of weak and deceptive character. The Apostle Paul’s pastoral epistles contain the characteristics that are necessary for leaders, elders, and deacons in the church. The characteristics detail behavioral qualities. They also list what a leader should know, that is his knowledge of sound doctrine. But far and above knowledge prerequisites are the personal attributes reflecting a man’s character. We have surely read of the moral failures of leaders in the church. When such a failure occurs, trust is broken. It is often never restored. More often than not, those failures are failures of character rather than doctrinal teaching. The most troubling failures are of those men who have had a history of teaching sound doctrine and are later found to have failed morally.
The biblical narratives of Joseph and Moses are examples of men of godly character. As you read their stories, the first thing that should come to mind is that these men are not perfect. The Bible does not fail to describe their faults as well as their virtues. Regardless of the role you fulfill in your church, a frequent reading and observation of the history of these two heroes of the faith is both comforting and edifying for all.
Genesis 39 reveals a part of Joseph’s life that is especially revelatory of his godly character. We are told that Joseph became a successful man. He was put in charge of the household of an officer of the Pharaoh. We read that the LORD was with Joseph. Joseph had an ongoing relationship with the LORD. As a child, Joseph thought he was of special privilege. As you may recall, his superior attitude angered his brothers to such a degree that they plotted to kill him but ended up selling him as a slave.
Years later, Joseph, who walked with the LORD, was blessed by Him. He became successful. His character was tested at a comfortable point in his life. The beautiful wife of the officer who entrusted his household to Joseph tried to seduce him. Joseph resisted and Moses recorded what he said. “‘Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge… How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God’” (Genesis 39:8ff)?
Even this strong statement did not dissuade the officer’s wife. She persisted and the Bible records Joseph’s action to flee from her presence leaving his garment in her hands she grabbed at him to keep him from fleeing. The officer’s wife then wrongly accused Joseph and her testimony was believed, which caused the officer to put Joseph in the king’s prison.
The rest of the story confirms the depth of Joseph’s character. He spent his life trusting in the Lord and pursuing godliness. Joseph’s life was a foreshadowing of Christ’s perfect life which is the absolute standard of perfect character. Jesus said of Himself, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).
To express the kind of character that Joseph expressed, one must be humble. Humility is a virtue that enables the one who has it to rightly assess himself before God. Jesus said that He was gentle and lowly in heart. The word from which both gentle and lowly are derived can also be translated as humble.
The Apostle Paul wrote of Jesus’ humility in Philippians 2:6-11; “Even though He was God, He did not consider Himself to be equal to God, but He humbled Himself by taking upon Himself human nature. Jesus’ humility extended to obeying the Father even to death upon the cross.”
The human author of the story of Joseph was himself a humble man. Moses wrote of himself under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. “Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3). The Spirit of God inspired Moses to write these words about himself when his leadership was challenged by the two people who were closest to him.
Like Joseph, Moses’ life demonstrated his trust in the LORD. Even when Moses sinned and God forbid him to enter the Promised Land, he endured the consequence of his sin and continued to obey God.
Character is the measure of a man or a woman. Behavior reveals character and it matters profoundly. Men and women of character are humble and can be trusted. Their character is seen over time.
Through viewing a person’s character whether it is good or evil, future actions can be anticipated. We are all sinners in the sight of God. Yet we must make decisions concerning those who we choose to entrust with various roles in life like leadership. Choose wisely. Choose men and women of character.
