Mankind is caught in a bind. Yes, there is a great and awesome desperate wretchedness in the hearts of all who are not living within the realm of the Blood Covenant in Jesus Christ. However, there remains an awesomely all-encompassing spiritual need for a Savior that Jesus Christ already fulfilled beyond all expectations, but there is an overarching, far-reaching primordial need for a deep introspection that most people have neither the desire nor the courage to undertake.
But that's not what I'm talking about today. I'm talking about the social pandemic of choosing to live within a cult of personality versus the character of Heaven. We must choose between character or personality.
We all want to be successful, however, we might disagree on what it means to be successful. One person's foundation of achieving success might be rooted in having a deeply intimate relationship with God. Another person's idea of success might include rejecting God in favor of garnering all the achievements and accolades for oneself -- money, sex, possessions, position, etcetera. The picture on the left details the prevailing attitude of the majority of what most Americans subscribed to as a matter of their basis of morals and ethics from the inception of the United States for about 150 years. The picture on the right describes what most Americans (and people around the world) use as a basis of morals and ethics. What do you notice as the contrast between the two prevailing views?
Clearly, the chart on the left is based on a Judeo-Christian, God-centered, Biblical point of reference and the one on the right is based on an Godless/self-centered and evolutionary point of reference. The two may seem relative at first glance, but they could not be more diametrically opposed to one another. The one on the right may seem like a simplified version of the left, but let's not confuse personality with character. Much of what we have witnessed in society is a falling away from the basis of the content of one's character and a landing in the alligator swamp of the cult of personality.
If you watch the news, you have most likely heard a 'character witness' who comes out and says something to the effect of, "I couldn't imagine him ever doing such a horrible thing. He was such a quiet person." That's because that person is not a character witness, but a personality witness. If the "witness" knew the person's character, he or she would have probably seen it coming. The trouble is, we don't really know people very well because most people wear masks and they are not anywhere close to the person God made them to be. Why? Because secular society has fallen for the satanic lie that we are inherently not good enough and we need to manufacture a persona that others will love and appreciate.
Jesus went after the hypocrites as He spoke out on society's degradation. Who were the worst offenders? The priests and teachers of the Law of God -- the very ones who should have best known that Jesus was the Messiah were the very ones grossly absorbed into Roman society and leading the people of God (Israelites) back into the same demonic slavery they had been rescued from many times prior. The people God had placed over Israel were the ones leading them astray! No wonder they killed the King of Glory! They weren't even true Jews -- they were human anti-Christs ... imposters ... hypocrites ... tools in the hands of the devil.
“Character is revealed in the Godliness you display when you’re suffering and in the choices you make when things are great. ”
Society even rewards people who can best act like they have it all together. There are experts, performers, gurus, and leaders of all levels of government who are merely well-trained blind guides who have great ideas of how to become successful as far as worldly success goes, but are nothing but blind guides as far as spiritual success. What makes the difference if you owned the whole world and lost your soul to eternal damnation? Who will celebrate a person's earthly success when not an ounce of it is around to enjoy and demons are horrifically torturing their constantly-resurrected body in Hell?
“A woman is like a tea bag — you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”
Choose character over personality. Personality may get you places where you can finagle and manipulate your way to worldly success, but Godly character will not only keep you in God's graces, but He will see to it your life is fulfilling and you are rewarded time after time and for all eternity. Those who rely on personality may have success for awhile, but the house built on sand will always fall with a great crash. Fix me on the firm foundation of the Rock of my Salvation, Lord!
Prayer
Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name! You deserve the glory, honor, and praise of all mankind, yet it seems so few truly honor You! Allow me the privilege of honoring You in all I do. Help me to live with character like Jesus did. Help me to be the person You made me to be. In Jesus' name I ask that all spiritual gifts You have given me from my conception come to light to Your glory. I ask, Lord, that I would always understand that character comes to light during times of trial and with every trial I endure, I am allowing You to break off the images the devil and others have tried to make me believe I am. I ask that You would reveal to me how I am known in Heaven and I conclude that today I desire to be free from all personality flaws because they are not of You. Free me from the bondage of false expectations and the pressures of social norms. In Jesus' holy name I pray, amen.
Many thanks to Stephen Covey, the author of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," for the images displayed in this post. If you are interested in purchasing the book, please find it here.
Thanks to Actsion.com for the use of the banner picture.