Faith and Doubt

in a Culture of Disbelief

  • Home
  • About
  • Milestones
  • Contact

Five Character Goals for 2013

December 31, 2012 Leave a Comment

Share this post:

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Email

 

 

 

Recently, I wrote a tribute to a gentleman and friend who died in Texas at age eighty.  It got me thinking about the kind of man I want to be “when I grow up.”  I have reorganized my tribute into this list of five character traits to illustrate that the goals we prize along the way are not necessarily the ones we will value in the end. 

 

Encouragement  

Once upon a time, when I was hardly a man and even less a pastor, an elder statesman treated me with the respect of someone far in advance of what my years had earned.  The older I get, the more I appreciate those simple gestures of encouragement that can only be given by one who has become rather self-forgetful.

Contentment  

Someone said, “Even if you are regarded as a shepherd among sheep, take care–sometimes sheep bite.”  I have noticed that some people, particularly men, remain competitive even with their pastor.  Too few learn to find solace within themselves through the discipline of these ancient words, “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10).  The distance of perennial competition is the main reason why “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation” (Thoreau).

Confidence  

Yet every now and then, I meet someone who has broken that spirit of competition in himself.  He is not less confident or masculine as a result.  On the contrary, such men exude a quiet strength that is more sure and stable than the showy competitive kind.  This type of strength the Psalmist describes as a tree, planted by streams of water. (Ps. 1)  A tree like that bears the fruit of the Spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.

Reorientation  

Men strive to conquer kingdoms and corporations.  Few conquer themselves–or, allow themselves to be conquered by a Will greater than their own.  In the presence of someone whose life is centered upon God privately, you rarely sense a defensive spirit publicly.  Self-defense has been replaced with genuine warmth and sincere interest.  Generosity is the result of a life reoriented away from oneself, and towards the One who has made him.

Humility

Only a few people gain the kind of humility which comes perhaps only through years of simply knowing God and being known by Him.  This kind of humility does not think less of oneself, but instead simply thinks of oneself, less.

In Memorium

 

 

Related

Filed Under: Personal Growth Tagged With: character, life goals

Subscribe to Faith and Doubt

Subscribe to Faith and Doubt today and receive a free copy of Milestones.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Who is Behind Faith and Doubt?

Tim FilstonTriplets+1 Dad. Smokies trout stalker. Spandex warrior. Comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.
More about Tim.

FacebookLinkedInTwitter

Get updates from Faith and Doubt by email!


Subscribe to Faith and Doubt today and receive a free copy of Milestones.

Main Topics

  • Personal Growth
  • Relationships
  • Leadership
  • News & Culture
  • Tough Questions
  • Great Reads

Latest Tweets

  • How to Die a Little to Live More www.faithanddoubt.com/personal…

    February 23, 2023 12:39 PM

  • Time doesn't automatically heal all wounds. It only dulls them until we start doing this.... www.faithanddoubt.com/personal…

    November 18, 2022 11:27 AM

  • Turning your past into compost www.faithanddoubt.com/personal…

    November 17, 2022 5:15 PM

Facebook

Facebook

RSS Featured Links

  • Why a Gen-Z Zombie Loves the Local Church
  • Keller’s Formation: Richard Lints on Theological Vision
  • How Immigration Can Revive a Christian Nation
  • The American Church Needs a Missionary Perspective
  • Lyman Beecher’s Prodigal Son: The Story of a Runaway Who Came Home

Latest Tweets

  • How to Die a Little to Live More www.faithanddoubt.com/personal…

    February 23, 2023 12:39 PM

  • Time doesn't automatically heal all wounds. It only dulls them until we start doing this.... www.faithanddoubt.com/personal…

    November 18, 2022 11:27 AM

RSS Leadership tips from Tony Morgan

Recent Posts

  • How to Die a Little to Live More
  • Turning your past into compost
  • How to make peace, not just keep it

all content © 2023 by Tim Filston | Design by Robin Cornett