Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from contributing friend, Brittany Sichting.
Character is much easier kept than recovered. - Thomas Paine
Character is said to be the mental and moral qualities distinctive to a certain individual. As Christians, our character is the innate representation of Christ in us. We are to strive for every quality that God has, to be the true sons and daughters that he created us to be. At times it seems Christian place being joyful, honest, encouraging, and being an example first in their daily walk. While these are all qualities to strive for, sometimes we overlook the simple aspects of character.
Being genuine in your daily walk is one of the most overlooked and over-used character qualities. We tend to lump it in with the other top qualities and expect ourselves to remember to be genuine. Having a strong character is being able to show that you have genuine intentions for every interaction you have.
One of the simplest and most beautiful opportunities to be genuine is in a friendship. In this, God is letting his children use the character the he put in them to match up with another person and share their walk of faith together. Can a person's character be defiled in that one interaction that shows a lack of genuineness? It puts this question into a reality when you think of our God sitting across from you and you begin to feel that He is not being genuine. You would doubt the character of God, and you may question the relationship that you have with Him.
What if God treated us all differently? You felt like you were in the hand of God, but upon that one interaction you feel like maybe you are not in a true friendship. Having genuine character is a necessity in everyday life. An individual has to impose that unto the friendships that they have right now in their own lives. We are all children of the person who has the utmost genuine character of all time. As sinners here on Earth, we should expect those genuine interactions on a daily basis.
Treat each other like you would if God were on the other end of the friendship. Tell friends how much you love them, go into specifics on what you enjoy about their character and have a genuine attitude in all that you do.
