Friday July 13, 2012

Character Amnesia

When wealth is gone, little is lost; when health is gone, something is lost; but when character is gone, all is lost!

Read Job 1:13-22

It seems that young people in China are beginning to forget how to write the characters that comprise the beautiful calligraphy of their traditional language.  Some are calling the phenomenon “character amnesia”.  Heavy usage of computers and smart phones often mean that writing is neglected and some can no longer  remember the characters they learned in their childhood.  One young man said, “People don’t write anything by hand anymore except for [their] name and address.”

 

Some people appear to have “character amnesia” of  a different sort.  When faced with a dilemma, they seem to “forget” the right thing to do and instead choose the easy way out.

 

God called Job “a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8).  God allowed satan to take everything Job had—his children, his wealth and his health.  Despite his heart-warming circumstances, Job refused to curse God.  “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong” (vs 22).  Satan had challenged God’s assertion of Job’s blameless character, but he was proven wrong.

 

Character amnesia?  No.  Character is who we are; it’s not something we “forget”.  Those who have a loss of character make a choice.

 

It isn’t the tranquil and placid seas

That bring our the sailor’s skills;

It’s the wind and waves that pound his ship

And toss it about at will. Ritter

Prayer:

¥ Spend time confessing to God the times you have suffered from Character Loss. Pray that God would forgive you and restore you and raise up in you a magnificent character life Christ’s. Pray this for 5 other people in your congregation.

¥ Choose 5 people from your congregation’s directory and pray for them.

¥ Spend a few moments thanking God for 5 things he’s done this week in or through your life.