One of the greatest men of our time has been Bill Gothard . Many people may not know about his life’s work but he has really written some profound words of wisdom.
Over the years, I have used them to inspire others ( and definately even myself), to teach and to share. I always try to give credit to Gothard for these thoughts because he has truely been blessed of God in his thinking.
One of the definitions that he offers about character is that “Character is the inward motivation to do what is right according to the highest standards of behavior in every situation”. Wow. Isn’t that fabulous? And, in the day in which we live, don’t we really need to live that out?
So, as I look at myself, I hope you’ll take stock at yourself and check out your character.
Gothard says that ” Character consists of the stable and distinctive qualities built into an individual’s life which determine his or her responses, regardless of the circumstance”. He further defines it as ” the wise response to the pressure of a difficult situation and what we do when we think that no one is watching. It is the predictor of good behavior”.
The most profound of his words are here:
Character reveals the Lord Jesus Christ since He is the full personification of all good character qualities.
Understanding character explains why things happen to us, because all things work together for good to conform us to the character of Christ.
Knowing precise character qualities gives us the basis for praising the character of God and others.