Does character really matter if one is used by God?
Does character really matter if one is used by God?
Very often we hear of supposedly Christian people whose character is far less than stellar, sometimes not even rising to the most basic level of character that is expected of a follower of Christ. The supporters and friends of these individuals then invoke the example of King David and say, “Well, David had flaws, yet he was a man after God’s heart. Nobody is perfect. God has always used imperfect people.”
Firstly, I would like to point out that David was not a man after God’s heart because he had character flaws. He was a man after God’s heart because of his brokenness before God and his repentant heart every time his sins were pointed out to him.
The question is, does character really matter when we see people with character flaws or moral flaws being used by God?
The answer is yes! Character matters. We must never forget that our primary calling is not to be “used by God” but to “be like Christ.”
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Rom 8:29
God’s ultimate goal for us is to transform us from who we are in ourselves to be like Jesus. The end result will be seen in Heaven:
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2
However, it is a long lifelong journey of faith to go from where we are today to being totally like Jesus when we get to Heaven. It entails, amongst other things, humbling ourselves before God and before man, living lives of repentance, renewing our minds by the Word of God, being willing to change, and “pursuing holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” (Heb 12:14)
I have seen and personally known men mightily used by God, but whose gifting and anointing were way ahead of their character. Sadly, they ended up shipwrecked because they hid behind their gifting and never saw the need to develop their character. This was because they were so “successful” in teaching, preaching, and in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, that they had the following mindset: “I am so busy and successful with my large and growing ministry; so why embark upon the cumbersome process of developing my character when I am so mightily used by God just as I am?”
I have heard such people downplay the pursuit of holiness, and call it “legalism.” I have also seen these people either shipwrecked or dropping out of the race with their lives unfulfilled. It is always better to be humble, to seek God with all our lives, to need Jesus all the time, and “not to get weary in our resistance against sin.”
This is because we live in an age when it is all about the worldly standards of “success.” It should instead be about becoming like Christ. It should be about success being defined as, “how much of Jesus Christ do people see in our character and our walk?”
We are imperfect people preaching about a perfect Saviour whose Word is perfect. People do accept us and respect us in spite of our imperfections, but when the discrepancies between our walk and our talk are just too great to accept and we make no effort to change, that is when it becomes untenable.
As Christians, we are held up to high standards by the world, and as ministers we are held up to high standards by both the world and by the church. Let us therefore never make excuses for sin and the flesh, but pursue holiness and purity, be quick to repent when we fail, and renew our minds by studying and confessing the Word of God. When people watch us up close, our character speaks louder than our words. Our character is the greatest evidence of the Life of Christ that dwells in us.
“But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” 1 Cor 9:27
Originally posted on Facebook by Pastor Christopher Alam