The Constancy of Our Character

Psalms 106:3 - Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right.

Our power of choice is our greatest power, but our constant application of right choices is what makes the difference.

Anyone can muster the strength to do the right thing once in a while. It is when we have love and respect for others and ourselves that we begin to be more constant in our right choices. When we establish our core values, and keep those core values in the front of our mind daily, we set up a framework of character from which we can work. Even then, it is still up to us to "practice what we preach".

I love sports, and I equate a lot of things to sports because that is the visual imagery that sticks with me the most. So, in terms of constancy of character, think of it this way: the home runs in baseball are cool (remember the ad from years ago "Chicks dig the long ball"?), but it's the singles, doubles, and stolen bases that get the job done more often than not. In football, the long pass is sexy (who doesn't want to see a 60 yard completion for a touchdown?). But the long pass doesn't work that often. Instead, the runs of 2, 3, and 4 yards over and over again get the ball down the field consistently.

It is the same with our character. Doing one big thing for somebody is great and shouldn't be overlooked. But the real difference makers occur in the little "right" things we do each and every day. As we do them consistently (and constantly), we will begin to see a positive difference in ourselves and in the people around us.

Drip by drip, the water wears the rock away.

Michael