The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

 

What is character? Some people might call it the real you.

Jack used to think he was a pretty great guy: patient, understanding, and helpful. Then he got married. Marriage tends to quickly show people the places where we’re selfish. Suddenly, all our space is shared, our resources are divided, and our privacy is limited. Our way of doing things has been disrupted by another person’s ways. This is the moment when we really see what our characters consist of!

Character is revealed by conflict. Your reputation is what the world sees, but your character is what your spouse sees. One writer put it this way: “Many a man’s reputation would not know his character if they met on the street.”[1] Behind closed doors, facing pressure most people will never know about, that’s where you see your character as it truly is.

What is character? Character is who you are when your values come with a price. Are you patient when it’s difficult? Are you kind when it inconveniences you? Are you honest when it costs you? God tells us that forming our character is so valuable that we can rejoice when hardships come to shape us into people of integrity and endurance (Romans 5:3-4).

In these hardships, we learn to walk with God, letting His Spirit develop in us good fruit. The Bible’s book of Galatians says, “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5: 22-23). We learn how to bear these good fruits through hardships, big and small. If you stop to think about it, can you see today’s opportunities for growth in your character?

[1] Hubbard, Elbert. A Thousand and One Epigrams. University of Michigan Library, 1911, p. 31.