rMag

A Word... on Character

Veronika Walker

How many times have you heard the adage “doing things you don’t like to do builds character”? Probably enough that it makes you scream.

Our parents drilled it into our heads, our conscience always gets on us about it, and we know - in the deep down area that we always try to ignore - that it’s a Biblical view. So why is it so hard to be productive, especially when the least liked chore or situation comes barreling in? Why does it seem almost impossible to fight the temptation to slack off, ignore it completely, or, in some cases, pretend it doesn’t exist at all?

Because Satan knows that if God’s children do their work half-heartedly or not at all, God’s kingdom will suffer.

Okay, so perhaps not in a world-devastating way … but enough to make a difference on a personal and relational level. The more we skirt our duties and responsibilities, no matter what stage of life we’re in, the more we risk desecrating our testimony as Christ’s followers. The more we become like every other person out there. The more we disappear into the crowd of unbelievers, and never shine as lights for Christ.

This issue, we have several writers who felt they wanted to adress character in its various forms. Particularly poignant is our feature this month, Doing Small Things. The ever-amazing Tim Sweetman returns to rMag to exhort, challenge, and correct our thinking so that we will determine to give everything to God, no matter the size, insignificance … or cost. Be challenged too by the life of Cristina Rosetti, a woman who had to fight the “enlightenment” of her time and pursue God’s truth, in Determination and Poetry by ROCer Hännah Schlaudt.

On the educational front, Sarah Modene and Joanne Lu make strong argument for pursuing character and excellence in their articles Ignorance isn’t Bliss and Carpe Diem: Seize the [School] Day, while Renee Knudsen examines the political debate over homeschooling in Homeschooling: Right or Privilege? Speaking of politics, Jordin Cohen wonders at the character of politicians, and thus who she’s going to vote for, in her refreshingly frank article, You Can Always Trust the Devil (or a Politician).

Over all, this issue is about making life decisions, pursuing education, at the polls, following God’s will, and, above all, our character as God’s children. I pray each and every one of us are challenged by the subjects addressed this month, and that we grow in character, Christ-likeness, and sanctification.