All of us at some point in time may have questioned who we are and attempted to find an answer by analyzing our past experiences. We need to understand the purpose of our character. It’s that part of us that is responsible for future outcomes in our lives.

A pastor boarded a bus one Monday morning and paid the fare to the driver, who gave him excess change.

He went back to the driver and said: “Excuse me, sir; you gave me back excess change.”

The driver replied: “No, Pastor, I didn’t give you excess change. I was at your church yesterday. You preached about honesty, so I thought I would put you to the test.”

There are a lot of situations in life that test our character and integrity.

Character is what we are when we are all alone with no one around to impress and what we are when the unexpected happens.

It’s what we would do if we knew others would never find out.

“What you are in the dark” – as D. L. Moody puts it.

That seems to be the motivation for a lot of things in life…..

Why do we choose not to do this or that?

Why do we avoid breaking rules?

May be because we are afraid of being caught?

Integrity starts when the fear of being caught ends.

Fear is a fine deterrent and it has its place.

But a better motive is to want to do what is right.

This changes from person to person. It all comes down to what we think about when we are all alone and what kind of choices we make about everything we do….

What are our favorite books?

What are our favorite TV shows?

What are our favorite games?

What do these things say about us?

What makes us sad?

What makes us mad?

What makes us angry?

What makes us laugh?

“A man shows his character by what he laughs at.”

– A German Proverb

Each of us has a certain kind of character that is built on habit.

“Sow a thought, reap an act;

Sow an act, reap a habit;

Sow a habit, reap a character;

Sow a character, reap a destiny.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Every day we make hundreds, maybe even thousands, of decisions of either doing the right or the wrong thing.

Sometimes we choose to lie just a little bit, so we can save ourselves from complications.

Sometimes we choose to cheat just a little bit, so we can pass a test.

There will always be temptation to take the easy path, instead of doing what is right, what helps keep our conscience clear and what is honorable before God.

These right and wrong choices create the life we live. The decisions we choose to make today will play out tomorrow.

We can accumulate an impressive long list of accomplishments in life, but if we don’t have integrity, it doesn’t really matter.

If we don’t have character, it undermines all the other things that we do.

To be a man or woman of character should be our priority.

Because the stand we make today will determine what kind of stand we make tomorrow.

Those who stand for nothing will fall for anything and everything.

Be careful to make the right choices so you can keep moving in the right direction.

As the old saying goes:

If wealth is lost nothing is lost.

If health is lost something is lost.

If character is lost everything is lost.