Character is King

Dave Ramsey is fond of saying “Cash is king!” Dave Ramsey is wrong. Cash is great. Cash can be freeing and empowering. But cash isn’t king.

Character is king. Character is who you are when no one is watching. Reputation is the image that you create for others to see. Reputation is important and you should protect your reputation. Proverbs 22:1 reminds us, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold” (did I mention, cash isn’t king?).

But, as important as your reputation is, your reputation does not trump the importance of building and maintaining your character. After all, if your reputation and character do not match, you are a hypocrite.

Recently I learned of another pastoral failure. I don’t know this man. I don’t know why he failed and had to resign. But, I know this isn’t the first time that he left a church in a fog of uncertainty and allegation. It isn’t the first time that questions circled about some underlying character issues.

Pastors can hide behind their preaching, their clean image, and their solid leadership skills. For a time, pastors can hide behind the reputation they build with smiling wives and pictures of happy children. But pastors, like everyone else, will at some point be forced to reconcile their public persona with their private persona. At some point, the reputation will be put to test as people begin to encounter you in less public environments. At that point, when reputation isn’t enough, only character will count.

Jesus warned in Matthew 6:1, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.”

For pastors, our righteousness is on display for all the world to see week in and week out. There is an incredible temptation to bolster our reputation by leaning on public displays of righteousness. However, the qualification for service as an elder in any local church is not merely that he be a man of good reputation, but that he be a good man. He is to be a one woman man, sober-minded, self controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity…he must be well thought of by outsiders.

Pastors are to be men of strong moral character. Understand that Christian character often does not look like worldly leadership. Christian character looks like Jesus. Meek, humble, mild.

In 21st century Christian ministry, appearance and self-promotion often deliver big time ministry opportunities. But, in all of Christian history, character has been king for people of God. Character is built in the quiet minutes spent in prayer and reading of God’s word. Character is built in hours pouring over Scripture in the pastor’s study. Character is built in phone calls to hurting brothers and sisters and in compassionate counseling to marriages in turmoil. Character is built when pastors bite their tongue rather than lashing out in anger. Character is shown when the pastor’s wife gets the best of him and not the left-overs. Character is shown when the pastor’s kids are behaved and well-disciplined and loved. Character is shown when hurting people are welcomed to your dinner table–not just big donors.

You can’t fake good character, and there is no substitute for it. You can hide behind a facade for a while, but at some point your private life and your public life will have to be reconciled. Your character and your reputation will either come into conflict with one another or they will converge in beautiful confluence.

If you have to choose which one you will invest in, invest in your character. Your reputation will follow. But, if you focus on your reputation–on what others think about you–you may just sacrifice your character (or your soul) for the acclaims and accolades of men and women.

Pastor, choose character, because even if no one else knows, “your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” If you aren’t a pastor, make sure that your pastor is a person of character.

And, regardless of what you do, be a person of character. Character counts in the pulpit, but also in the classroom, behind the checkout counter, and in the boardroom. Character is king.