Character is What We Really Are
Our character is what distinguishes us from others. It is the way we think and act when no one is looking, when we are sure no one will ever find out what we have done. It is what we really are, not what others think we are.
Character doesn’t come by chance; it takes time and patience to develop. It is earned through experience of trial and suffering; it is built by overcoming weaknesses. We build character when we conquer an undesirable passion, thought, or desire. Trifling though it may seem, it becomes another mark on our character.
A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts and feelings. Man is the molder of his own character; it is made or unmade by himself.
Character is not to be confused with reputation. “A man’s character is the reality of himself,” said Henry Ward Beecher. “His reputation is the opinion others have formed of him.”1
William Davis observed the difference this way:
The circumstances amid which you live determine your reputation; the truth you believe determines your character.
Reputation is what you are supposed to be; character is what you are ….
Reputation is what you have when you come to a new community; character is what you have when you go away ….
Reputation is made in a moment; character is built in a lifetime ….
Reputation makes you rich or makes you poor; character makes you happy or makes you miserable.
Reputation is what men say about you on your tombstone; character is what angels say about you before … God.2
It is true that a good reputation is important, but it is meaningful only when backed by an equally good character. “A good name is seldom regained,” wrote Joel Hawes. “When character is gone, all is gone, and one of the richest jewels of life is lost forever.”3
1Henry Ward Beecher, Life Thoughts
2William Hersey Davis
3Joel Hawes
September 24, 1972
Broadcast Number 2,244