CHARACTER COUNTS: Godliness

 Have you ever put a puzzle together and the last piece was missing? Without that critical piece the work is lacking and the whole picture is less than whole.

This session points us to a quality that is the critical piece to building our own lives: godliness. Without godliness, the structure of our lives is incomplete and our wholeness is lacking. 

Godliness is the quality or state of reflecting the character of God in our will and the ways in which we live.  It is not about religious rituals, moral superiority, or trying to earn divine favor. It’s about alignment: a transformed heart and life that increasingly mirrors  the holiness, love, justice, mercy, wisdom, and truth of the Divine.  The word “godliness” (Greek: eusebeia) It comes from eu (“well” or “good”) and sebas (“reverence” or “awe”), literally suggesting “well-reverence” or proper respect. In classical Greek philosophy and culture:

•  It referred to the dutiful attitude and actions of reverence toward the gods (through rituals, prayers, and sacrifices), family, ancestors, and societal order.

•  For Platonists, it meant right conduct toward the divine; for Stoics, proper worship of God.

•  It was a civic and religious virtue—piety expressed in both attitude and behavior, maintaining harmony with the sacred and social order. 

Godliness is a profound respect and awe toward God that flows into practical living.

CHARACTER COUNTS: Generosity

Everyone loves the stories of philanthropists—those who give away large sums of money through donations, trusts, and foundations. Elon Musk recently offered to pay over a full month of salaries of 54,000 people and Warren Buffet gives away 99 percent of his wealth.

Considering that in 2023, Buffet made over $37 million every day, his pledge to give away 99 percent certainly gets our attention, for he would give away $36.63 million a day. That sounds noble and sacrificial, but if you had $135 Billion (Warren Buffet’s net worth) and chose to live on a mere one percent, you would still have $1.3 billion to scrape by on!  That's 3.6 Million dollars EVERY day of the year.

Sure, that’s a lot of money to give, but is that same as being generous? Generosity has nothing to do with the amount. Generosity is a heart issue.

CHARACTER COUNTS: Contentment

Children…No matter how many toys are out on the floor there must always be more sought.  

Babysitting is sometimes a perfect object lesson for the need for contentment. Like little children, it seems that no matter what we have, we still have a craving for more. No matter what you have in your hands, you always want what someone else has in their hands. It seems that when children are together there is seldom contentment.  Often, the same is true of adults.

I saw a meme that said "I will never forget when my grandfather said to me: "Our life [then] was tiring for the body but it was comfortable for the soul.  Your life today is comfortable for the body, but it is tiring for the soul."

We look at Philippians 4:10-20 and learn that we should be content in the power and provision of the Divine.  

CHARACTER COUNTS: Integrity

More in the CHARACTER COUNTS Series In an effort to strive for balance we tend to create “silos” for the different areas of life such as family, work, church, and leisure.  While it can be good to keep work from seeping into our family life, our character should be consistent in all areas of life regardless of where we are and what we are doing. This is a life of integrity.

Integrity is from the same word as integer, indicating a whole number, not a fractional number.  Integrity to character is when we are wholly authentic and not only "partially" authentic.  We are wholly godly and not only partially Godly. 

CHARACTER COUNTS: Humility

More in the CHARACTER COUNTS Series In 1961 Nat King Cole recorded the song Nature Boy whose lyrics reach the conclusion that "The greatest thing you'll ever learn Is just to love and be loved in return."  

It’s easy to love when we’re loved in return; easy to love when it’s convenient, or when others are lovable. But a love that loves when it is not reciprocated, not  easy, or not convenient calls for a strong dose of humility.    

Love is a multifaceted human experience that can manifest in various forms. The components of love include connection, sharing, closeness and a conscious decision to maintain the relationship even when facing challenges. 

Precepts for Living: Intentionally False Testimony

Never lie when you testify about your neighbor.

To testify is to provide evidence of the reality, the actuality, of something.   

To lie is to knowingly provide evidence of something with intent to deceive.  Lying is seen as a fundamental rejection of reality, a disruption of community, and spiritual corruption.