How To Guarantee Your Safety In The Purpose Driven Living: Character – PDL Insights (Part 19)
How To Guarantee Your Safety In The
Purpose Driven Living: Character – PDL Insights (Part 19)
When wealth is lost, nothing is lost,
when health is lost somethings is lost, when character is lost all is lost - Billy
Graham
As
we continue in our discussion on The Purpose Driven Life (PDL) we need to
remember what we have understood it to be. It is the centre piece of a
meaningful life. In one way or the other people are looking for meaning in life
and they do it differently and look in different places, people, possessions
and positions. True meaning however is
in God and his purposes for our lives. We have understood the PDL to be a life
that allows you to express your inner values doing what you love to do and what
you are good at while maximising on your creativity.
This
life is designed and preserved through a process of deliberate actions. It doesn’t
happen naturally by observing your surroundings as the environment has very few
role models who model it. It is therefore necessary to know that the PDL is
lived from within. Looking at how priceless the PDL is, it has to be
discovered, developed, lived and protected. One interesting thing is that the
protection of the PDL is something that is our personal responsibility. One key
ingredient that is important in our journey is a positive character. It is what
helps us stand the test of opposing and pulling down forces in getting to live
our lives to the fullest and when we are walking in the PDL path it is what
keeps us in the path.
Character
has been limitedly understood to be the moral attributes that one possesses but
it is more than morality. A better way that
character has generally and commonly been defined is taking it as the complex
of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group,
or nation. It encompasses inner fortitude and mental strength combined with
the moral and ethical values. One has once described the moral aspect of
character as what we do when we think no one is watching. The words of one of
the most respected life coaches Jim Rohn
throw light to help us understand this thing called Character when he says,
“Character isn’t something you were
born with and can’t change, like your fingerprints. It’s something you weren’t
born with and must take responsibility in forming”.
Getting
to the first side of our accepted definition of character as mental traits that
we have further described as inner fortitude and strength, it is clear that we
need this in the PDL walk. As we have discovered in previous chapters and
insights, Purpose Driven Living is being realised by a smaller percentage of
people. The majority of people are following the wind and going where everyone
is going. They are following the path of least resistance. When one embarks on
their purpose journey, the environment is generally not supporting and one
needs to go against the tide. This takes some mental strengths that manifests
in taking strong decisions on direction, staying on the path when quitting is
what makes sense, picking yourself up when you fall along the way, admitting
when you are wrong and just being there and sticking to it to the end. A lot is
what you will be called to do on the PDL journey. It is character that helps us
do this.
The
other side of the coin carries what has been generally understood as character.
It is the moral and ethical aspects. Our purposes are to people and we pursue
them also working with people. Purpose encompasses influencing people to go in
certain directions, receive certain things and do certain things. Our gifts,
skills, talents and abilities are tools that we have to fulfil purposes with
our convictions, desires and passions being the fuel. Our values act as the
compass to direct us but our morals and ethics are what keeps us in the game.
Our gifts can take us to the top but our character will keep us there. A
leader’s gift is only as safe as the character that contains it posits the late
Myles Munroe. The ethical and moral components of our character gives us a
reputation. You can have all the skills, gifts, convictions and passion (your
purpose) but find no one to serve because of your character. The late Kung Fu
actor Bruce Lee captured this nicely
saying, “Knowledge will give you power
but Character respect.”
One
of the currencies precious than money that keeps the PDL going, keeping the
thrill in relationships, making industries tick, making organisations continue
to produce indelible marks and unions and treaties standing is called trust.
Trust is simply the ability to freely give and receive. Trust is built over
time as our character deposits it in trust bank accounts in other people and
people groups. The more we deposit through our character over time the more we
can withdraw in due season. Untrustworthiness is a result of flawed characters
and Miles Munroe commented about
this saying, “One of the most serious of
the societal disorders is untrustworthiness. Once you lose the trust of your
family, your friends, or your colleagues, it is very difficult to win it back.”
This is echoed in the words of Will
Rodgers who reinforced the priceless value of character saying, “Live in such a way that you would not be
ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip”.
The
currency of trust is sometimes captured in a word that captures a number of
these virtues called integrity. Integrity is an ability to demonstrate a
reputable character that comes from an ability to look at things and life in an
integral way. It comes from understanding that the environment we live in is integrated
so every small decision, thought or action affects some other things beyond the
moment. Decisions, thoughts, attitude and actions have a ripple effect and it
is integrity that helps us to be effective and make lasting differences or
fruit that remains, according to the words of the Master and Lord Jesus Christ.
Integrity is priceless because it protects us over time. John Maxwell in one of
his Audio Teachings, ‘Becoming a person of Influence’ describes integrity as a
virtue that values
a. Character over
personal gain
b. People over
things
c. Service over
power
d. Principle over
convenience
e. Long view over immediate
You
will not run out of examples from the bible, history, media spaces, society,
families and institutions where lack of integrity killed potential, deferred
hope and destroyed destinies. This shows us why this virtue will protect our
lives and walk in the PDL. Character will protect us from the environment that
is ready to pressure us to compromise and thereby derail us or weaken the
impact of our influence. Character will also protect us from the internal
forces of our lusts and cravings that can wreck our destinies. This wisest
person in the ancient world describes the protective aspect of Integrity that
everyone in the PDL needs saying,
The
integrity of the upright shall preserve him (Prov. 11:3)
Having
realised the priceless value of Character, how then is character developed so that
we can take the responsibility to develop the kind of Character that will take
us far in the PDL path. One word sums it up and it is not surprising that the
concept came from God’s model man and man’s identifiable God, Jesus Christ. It
is called discipleship.
When Jesus first
talked to people as the inauguration of his work on the earth he said, “Repent:
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” As he was carrying on with the
work he met two brothers and in line with his message of a better kingdom than
they were in, he says to them, ‘follow me, and I will make you fishers of
men’. This aspect of following was the secret. It is what you follow
that makes you. He gave them a guarantee that following him would make them
fishers of men. What He promised, being ‘fishers of men’ is not limited to the
ability to fish men into the kingdom through evangelism but it also implies
that what you become in following him makes you the perfect bait that man cannot
resist. Following him gives you magnetic influence that cannot be overlooked in
relationships, business, leadership or any facet that involve people.
He was introducing
people to an important aspect of change, the concept is of discipleship. In
John He gives a reason why following him was necessary, “My kingdom is not of this world ……”
He did not mean that his kingdom was not relevant on the earth and hence not to
be experienced on the earth. He meant that his kingdom was not based on the system
of principles and values which made the unredeemed order of humanity, but was
coming from another system with a different set of principles and values.
One would wonder why
he came talking of another Kingdom which was so different to what they were
used to. This is because he was born in a time of Roman rule, the Greek culture
and the Jewish traditions and none of the three could really bring out what he
had come to present. This is the reason why he would boldly say, “all
those who came before me where thieves and robbers.” With him coming
with something new, for anyone to understand the new doctrine and idea about
life one had to repent, be humble and be willing to learn. This was the call to
discipleship. Discipleship was not a way of building a religion but of changing
the culture and raising a new generation of people who could influence the
world in a different way.
The word disciple as
Jesus used it is from the Greek Word 'Mathetes’, as used in the original manuscript
that captured the concept literally implying a learner or one who follows
someone’s teaching. The word is from the root word ‘Math’ where we get the word
‘Maths’ which indicates thought followed by endeavour. The development of
character calls one to be a learner, following certain people, teachings,
principles or disciplines. To be effective in learning it is important to
understand that we have to engage thought in a very effective way. This idea of
thought is what the greater part of religion is missing out. The way some
people are taught in the church for example, seems to be an approach that
discourages thinking. People follow in a gullible manner and most people are
led into beliefs and practices that disempower them. This explains why many
people are poor and blindly following religions and leaders who exploit them.
When one looks at life
from a vantage point, they will see that 95% of the people are far from The
Purpose Driven Life. One of the reasons why very few people live fruitful and
exciting lives is the lack of the kind of character that is consistent with
success. The world system has role models that lack the kind of character and
discipline required for success. If one is in an environment that has only 5%
of people on the Purpose Driven Path, there is limited exposure to role models
to follow. The world role models that people see in the entertainment industry are
usually the worst demonstration of flawed characters. Many fail on morality and
ethics and worse still the mental strength and fortitude that is needed for
success. This shows why without the deliberate discipleship from role models that
follow the way of Christ, many people are destined to failure. One person who
followed Christ to live The Purpose Driven Life showed us the way and the best
system to disciple us saying,
"Be ye therefore
imitators of God, as beloved children (or children of love)." What would
we do if we imitated God: We would love "And walk in love, even as Christ
also loved you, and gave himself up for you." [Ephesians 5:1-2]
If people are to
develop a character that will position them for greater heights in the PDL walk
it will require a following or learning that engages one’s mind - Discipleship. If one is to be an effective disciple who will follow
Christ to be an efficient ‘fisher of men’, (bait to influence and win the
hearts of people), they need some characteristics that are discussed in one of
the leadership modules I have produced entitled ‘Empowerment for Leadership,
Success and Excellence’. The characteristics needed for a good disciple are Desire,
Trust, Diligence, Patience, Perseverance, Consistency, Resilience, Jealousy and
Sacrifice.
The concept of
discipleship is important in character development and has to be used in
different arenas of life. Effective parenting is the one that takes this course
of discipleship as instructed by the most successful King of the ancient world
who said,
Train up a child in
the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. [Proverbs
22:6] KJV.
Successful churches,
organisations and companies that have raised a different kind of people have
used this concept and it can work for you. Take the tried and tested
discipleship of Christ and be a disciple of Christ to develop the ideal
character needed for a successful PDL walk. Without a good character you will
not go far, as delicately captured in the words of Billy Graham who said,
When wealth is lost, nothing is lost,
when health is lost somethings is lost, when character is lost all is lost.
Good
Leaders are those who have followed well and no one is a success and achieves excellence
unless they have been followers of people or disciplines – Coach Tarie: The Wisdom
Garden (Volume 1)
The
system of this world is designed to produce failures and the virtue to escape
it is discipline- Coach Tarie: The Wisdom Garden (Volume 1)
Look for more insights on the PDL on www.coachtarie.com or request to be added
on the PURPOSE DRIVEN LIVING (PDL) WhatsApp group. Inbox any of the following
numbers. +263773301267, +263783573784, +263784456314, +263779924607
For personal coaching in PURPOSE DRIVEN LIVING
PDL or anything related to
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