Character Building
“Giving all diligence, ADD to your faith VIRTUE…” —2 Peter 1:5
No one is born with Christian character. Character is something that is developed as a person grows in Christian maturity (2 Peter 1:5-10).
A parent who says, “I won’t make my child go to youth group if they don’t like it,” shows an utter lack of maturity and character. It is a measly cop-out from doing the responsible thing and the right thing. Since when is a child’s “likes or dislikes” the deciding factor for what they should do? What if they don’t like going to school? Does that make them exempt from going?
Character is about doing what is right whether you like it or not.
Sometimes you should purposely do something you do not like doing. For example, if you don’t like eating peas, eat some peas anyway—It will build your character! If you don’t like exercising, exercise anyway—It will build your character. If someone rubs you the wrong way, go out of your way to do something nice for them—It will build your character.
Remember, it is all about character! It’s NOT about what you like or don’t like.
A child who complains, “I don’t like youth group,” needs to be challenged—“What don’t you like about it? What can you do to make it better.” Their answers will reveal their level of character. Maybe the problem is not with the youth group, but with the child who is complaining about the youth group. Instead of complaining, a person with character will determine, “I’m going to do my best to make the youth group better.”
So parent, what are you doing to instill character and integrity into your children? They won’t get it automatically. Character is BUILT, not inherited genetically.
