Character

People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Character is what you are in the dark.

Dwight L. Moody

You can tell a lot about a person's insides - their heart - by what they write, what they say, and how they react.  You can tell a lot more about your own character by how you do the above - when alone, where no one is watching.  


As you sit alone - or when surrounded by the crowd - consider...
If people could see my insides, read my mind, broadcast how I feel... 
would that be a good thing?  
Am I content - "proud" - of who I am, for real?


What am I doing about the real me -
the me that lives in the dark, away from human view?


I want to be as transparent in the dark as I am in the light.  
Above reproach is a worthy goal. 

Integrity....

I. Love. Thursday nights.  There's something about the Friday-eve factor that's just plain happy!  Maybe it's because there's nothing on my schedule for Thursday night, and Friday is usually quiet in the office.  So Thursday nights my brain can slip into a zone that's a bit more peaceful, and there's time to think about what I want to think about...

and so tonight I'm chewing on...

Integrity.  Maybe it's because it's a concept that I'm very passionate about.  The term came up again today in the office, and descriptives such as transparency - character - honesty come out of my mouth as the meaning poured from my heart.

I love this definition:

Integrity gives you and me the ability to stand before anyone, anytime, at any place, and let them ask anything they want about our lives; and we can answer every question honestly, without being ashamed. (Pastor Dave Sharpes)

A person of integrity is the same person in private as they are in public.  A person of integrity is totally honest - anything less is a sham.  A person of integrity realizes there are moral absolutes even in a world of relative values.  A person of integrity has a responsibility to do what's right no matter what the crowd says.  A person of integrity can be trusted - totally.

I want to be - that person of integrity...

Sow a thought, reap an act.

Sow an act, reap a habit.

Sow a habit, reap a character.

Sow a character, reap a destiny.