NO CHARACTER, NO FUTURE

MEMORY VERSE: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Num 1, Ps 35, Eccl 11, Titus 3

God has good plans for your future. According to Psalm 37:37, He wants you to have a future of peace. Not only that, He plans to give you an expected end, Jeremiah 29:11. Do you know that you will not die young? Psalm 118:17 says I shall not die, but live and declare the works of the Lord. Do you know that it will be well with you? Isaiah 3:10 says say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Your present circumstances may not bear resemblance of your proposed future but don’t worry, all is well. Job 8:7 says though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.

Good character is required to fulfill God’s plan and purpose for your life. There are many who work tirelessly to get to the ‘top’, only to come crashing back after a while due to lack of character. There are many women who have lost their places has a result of lack of character. Queen Vashti was replaced; the remains of Jezebel were not found because dogs ate her up; Michal lost her place in the palace. There are many mighty prophets to be who became a leper as a result of lack of character. This was the case of Gehazi, he was on his way to become one of the greatest prophets in Israel. The heavens had planned to give him double portion of the spirit of Elisha but because of a little lie and greed, instead of been anointed he became sick; instead of a blessing he received a curse. The man who the whole nation was meant to look up to began to live in the jungle alone.

Lack of integrity, lie telling, inconsistency in character, lack of patience, non- payment of tithes e.t.c reveals lack of character. You may be wondering how non- payment of tithes reveals lack of character. According to Malachi 3:8, those who do not pay their tithes are robbing God. Now tell me a fellow who robs God, who can he not rob? Lack of character could also be not knowing how to talk. A lot of people have lost great opportunities because they do not know how to talk. Many of them talk rudely to everyone one even their parents. Let me tell you a fact, a child who talks rudely to his or her parents is playing with fire! I know you will not be cursed because you will not talk rudely to your parents. The problem with not knowing how to talk is that once you say it , it is the end. You cannot take it back again. People can forgive but they will never forget what you have said.

PRAYER POINT: Father, pleased do not let lack of character rob me of my glorious future.

ATTRACTED BY CHARACTER

Psalm 147:10 – He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.

Heraclitus once said “Character is destiny”. There is a difference between morals and characters. It is possible to have good morals but bad character. There a lot of people with good moral upbringing, they will never tell a lie or steal but they lack integrity or you cannot trust them with secrets. There are people in the churches today who will never smoke or commit adultery but when it comes to keeping their promises or vow they need help. There are people who will never rob God in tithes and offerings but will talk behind their pastor’s back or gossip about fellow Christians. Although they have good morals yet they lack good character . Saul for example had good morals. There was no record of Saul stealing someone’s donkey or committing adultery but he lacked good character. Two hundred and thirty thousand men volunteered to go to war with him (1 Samuel 10:5-9 ), after winning the war he kept only two thousand and sent the rest ( two hundred and twenty-eight thousand men) back home with nothing (1 Samuel 13:1-2). This is bad character. Another example is Uzziah in 2 Chronicles 26:1-2. He had good moral upbringing, never cheated anyone, the bible recorded nothing bad about his morals but he lacked character. He had no regard for common men or the prophets. When he became very powerful he began bully prophets in the temple. At the end Saul was demoted and Uzziah became a leper.

One criteria God uses in selecting people for important assignments or blessing is good character. Psalm 147:10 says He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. That is why at times we wonder why God will pick a person like David to be a man after His heart or Rahab to be the great great grandmother of David or Abraham to be His friend or Paul to write more than half of the New Testament. We all know David needed help in the area of morals. In 2 Samuel 11:1-17 we see David committing adultery with Bathsheba and then killing her husband to marry her. Although David struggled with his morals, he had excellent character. He was very humble and full of integrity. Psalm 78:72 says he shepherd Israel with the integrity of his heart. In 2 Samuel 22:2, Vagabonds and world rejects gathered around David and he made them mighty men that shook the world. This is good character. In Joshua 2:1-17 is the story of Rahab the prostitute from Jericho, morally she needed help but she had good character. She never stole from the spies; she kept her promise to protect them. Through her God delivered Jericho into the hands of the Israelites. She later became the great great grandmother of David. Jesus came from the lineage of David! Today many Christians struggle as a result of bad characters. There are many beautiful sisters and well to do brothers who are yet to find their life partners all because of their character. Good character brings favor; it opens door; and takes you the top. To keep the door open or keep you at the top you need good morals. Good character took David to the top but bad morals almost destroyed him. Good character took Rahab to the top but she worked on her morals and became a responsible wife.

KEY WORD: Good moral without good character leads to frustration. Good character without good moral leads to shame. Good character will definitely open doors but good moral is needed to keep the doors open.

THE LACK OF CHARACTER OF MICHAL

2 Samuel 6:23 – and Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

A Greek philosopher called Heraclitus once said ‘Character is destiny’. The character of a man can deny him the fulfillment of God’s plan for his life. It is good to have dreams and aspirations but without a good character one will end up disappointed. To enjoy a walk with God, good character is essential. Michal the daughter of Saul had everything money could buy. She had servants, connections, status, and fame but despite all these she lived a life of misery. She was the only woman in the bible who died without a child.

A careful study into the life of Michal shows us that she was a dishonest person. She lied to her father, her father’s messengers and virtually anyone she could find, 1 Samuel 19:13 -14. Not only was she dishonest, she was full of deception. She told lies on people to get herself out of trouble, 1 Samuel 19:17. She was the one that let David through a window .When she was asked she told Saul that David threatened to kill her. Telling a lie only cover up things, it does not take it away. It is better to say the truth and suffer the consequence or face the embarrassment and be free than lie to save face and be in bondage. There is no point telling a lie because the truth will always emerge. Luke 8:17 says for nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known or come to light. Besides that anyone who tells a lie belongs to the devil, John 8:44. Also she was vain; she attached too much importance to material things. She was only interested in people for what they are not who they are. At the surface level, one will think her attraction to David was out of love but on a deeper level it was because of what they was and his achievements. She loved David because he was handsome (1 Samuel 16:12); Popular (1 Samuel 16:18, 21, 23); Hero (1 Samuel 18:6-7); successful (1 Samuel 18:14-16, 30) and famous (1 Samuel 18:30). Immediately David went into exile she married Palti (1 Samuel 25:44). Once all the fame and looks was gone, she moved on to another man. To crown it all up she was disrespectful to everyone. Out of disrespect she deceived and disobeyed her father; she disobeyed God by worshipping an idol, 1 Samuel 19:13; she disrespected the king and her husband (2 Samuel 6:16). In the end she received judgment (2 Samuel 6:21-22). Abigail on the other hand was very respectful. She was full of wisdom. When her husband died, people thought it was the end for her but her good character earned her place in the palace as a queen. Do you know abusing people in authority depicts lack of character? James 4:11 warns us not to slander anyone, besides God expects us to respect and submit to all authority (1 Peter 2:13-14). We will never change anyone by condemning them, they will only become worse.

ACTION POINT: Let us commit those in power into the hand of God that He will touch their heart and use them for His glory.