Character Study

 

I been thinking about passion and zeal…the full throttled excitement of following Christ and diving into all that He has for us. This musing and reflection led me to pray for passion to be released in my life…a good prayer don’t you think? Perhaps…but the Father spoke to me about a different approach.

“And endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Romans 5:4

The channel for our passions, for our zeal must be our character. This character, forged by trials, tests, difficult circumstances and even successes, is a hope producer. Character produces hope because it can be counted on. It’s dependable, it’s noticeable, it takes a stand and doesn’t back down. Character shows up and hangs in when times get tough…it is a hero waiting for release.

Character is the throttle on my passion…and I need one…it controls the flow, regulates the release and…makes it more fruitful. I believe with all my heart that we need passion on this journey with Christ but it must be channeled through the character He imparts into us. This way we can passionately produce hope…and share it with people who desperately need it.

“Strong feelings do not necessarily make a strong character. The strength of a man is to be measured by the power of the feelings he subdues not by the power of those which subdue him." - William Carleton

What do you think? Is character and passion a good mix?

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Comments

bill (cycleguy) said…
I think they have to mix.  Bad character will derail meaningful passion.  Passion for something without character is misguided.  (among other things). 
Jay Cookingham said…
Absolutely Bill...they HAVE to mix...thanks for the early AM comment bro'
Fathafrank said…
Interesting thought. It's easy to get hyped up about something, but character tempers the hype and sees the desire through to completion.
Jay Cookingham said…
Great way to put it bro'...appreciate your viewpoint!
Cindy Holman said…
Yes - it is possible.  It's the self control and holding back that makes us more Christ-like.
jasonS said…
Jay, excellent breakdown here. I'm completely with you. The intensity, passion, and zeal have to be guided through character or we can end up in some unfruitful or possibly dire situations. The world has seen a lot of people who lived with passion on top and they fell hard. What a revelation when people see us living out passion but with character on top! Talk about being different. Thanks Jay. Really great post.
Jay Cookingham said…
Amen Cindy...self-control is a great character trait!
Jay Cookingham said…
It's so cool that with Him with can actually mixed them and be more effective! Thanks Jason!

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