The Assassin of Character Creep

Back in late September of this year, I heard a man by the name of Mike Foster speak at a men's conference our church sponsored. He and his buddy Jud Wilhite have written a book called Deadly Viper Character Assassins. Good book. I am studying it with some men on Friday mornings, and I plan to give at least one copy to someone very special to me this Christmas.

Anyway, Mike's message on "Character Creep" was really good. I took some notes from his talk and that is what I'll share in this post.

His first point was that slip ups in the small things are what happen first as our character begins to creep. He said that we all need to make good decisions in the small things. Apparently it was discovered after the fact that the Titanic sank not because it hit an iceberg, but because of faulty rivets. The manufacturer of the Titanic cut corners big time with the rivets that held the steel in place on that large ship. When it hit the iceberg, the imperfections of those faulty rivets exposed themselves. Mike said that we can not cut corners; we should not take short cuts. He cited the story of Enron. The executives of that failed organization did not determine several years before it failed to put plans into place for failure. No, they were slowly cooked; they slowly faded into poor decision-making that eventually caused the failure. Mike told us that we need to manage our rivets. The strength of our character is cumulative.

His second point was that we all need to work hard for complete transparency. We need to avoid "image-management." Don't hide things from others; don't fool people. Don't even try. Someone is going to find out the truth. Don't pretend that everything is O.K. - especially if it really isn't. Be transparent at all times. Avoid managing your "image."

His third point was a really good one. He said that we need to refrain from doing anything today that we wouldn't want to read in the headlines (or see on a You Tube video) tomorrow. Wow. Think about that. What if what you did yesterday (or the day before) was in the headlines tomorrow. Would you be O.K. with that? Be diligent about your character. Be strategic knowing that everything you do and say reflects the current status of your character - both good and bad.

Finally, since Mike is a Christian and understands this value especially for believers, he said that we need to "do it in community." We all need other people in our lives speaking truth to us. Don't be blind to your compromises. True friends stab you in the front. If your Christian friends aren't saying anything to you right now, then you are in big trouble. Just like in athletics, if the coach isn't riding you hard, he may have already given up on you. There is a lot of talk about accountability in Christian circles these days. Mike says that people can fake accountability. Rather, we all need to be "advocates" for each other. Challenge one another to stronger character and more Christ-like actions! We also need to be willing to stand by someone we love through the good and the bad. But, that doesn't mean that we just accept their character creeps and fail to challenge them. No, we need to get right in the middle of our wounded and hurt soldiers' lives. We need them to know that nothing they would ever do would keep us from loving them. We might be really disappointed, but we will not abandon them. We will stand by them anyway, even when the times get tough.

Character creep. It can happen so easily to all of us. Thank God for Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite who authored a really great book. Thank God for calling each of us to take stock of our character. Character matters.