A man’s character is his fate. Thomas Jefferson,
the third President of the United States said:
“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
As a servant of God, I have watched pitiably how people self-sabotage themselves by seeking spiritual solutions to character-deficit issues. They look around at everybody as suspects for their predicaments when their greatest demons lurks within them – their character. What we often call our destiny is truly our character, and since that character can change, then destiny can be altered. Character is destiny.
Most people believe that we can pray ourselves to success and get away with virtually anything if we become a stickler to some prayer routines. THERE IS NO AMOUNT OF SPIRITUAL PENANCE THAT CAN SUBSTITUE FOR CHARACTER. Sometimes, you need character, not prayer.
Dutch Sheets said: “Prayer is not a cheque request asking for things from God; it is a deposit slip – a way of depositing God’s character into our bankrupt souls.”
British writer and politician, Thomas Macaulay said: “The measure of a man’s character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out.” I have often said that what would ultimately destroy a man going to high places in life is not really the enemies that are waiting for him there, but the character that followed him there.
I want to emphatically underline the fact that this write-up is not meant to trivialize prayers in any way. I have observed that many people take character for granted, while overzealously tuning on into their spiritual mode – prayers. We have become so spiritually in tune through prayers that we neglect the place of character and our relationship with people. Many are actually ‘heavenly’ bound, but with no earthly relevance. You can speak with spiritual eloquence, pray in public and maintain a holy appearance, but it is your behavior character that will actually trigger the manifestation of all that God has for you.
You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him. The way we treat people we think can’t help or hurt us, like housekeepers, waiters, secretaries and the less fortunate, tells more about our character than how we treat people we thing are important. How do you treat people?
Prayer is not EVERYTHING! Build relationships, and don’t forget that God will always use man. Be mindful of your words and how you speak to people. Work seriously on your character and attitude towards life.
I want to say emphatically that character is not optional; it is sacrosanct to the future that God has planned for you. No matter where you place prayers, character matter. The greatest fraud in life is religion without character. A man without character is recklessly alive.
(SOURCE UNKNOWN)