Character Counts Revisited
One of the main characters of the book “Empty Reflection” has an ongoing battle withing himself (that usually spills onto others) - mainly because he has a struggle with his identity. He knows, or perceives, that there is something unique or different about him, but he doesn’t know what that is. His doubts lead to a lot of discouragement within, and a lack of character without.
What is character? Back in my baseball coaching days at Liberty University, my boss - the head coach, Al Worthington - used to strongly emphasize the need and the importance of character. To him, success was more in building character than in wins and losses, though he certainly wanted us to win! I asked him to define character - stating that he emphasized it a lot, but I wasn’t sure that the players understood what he meant by it. His answer was classic: “I can’t define it, but I can see it when it isn’t there.”
The character in Empty Reflection would be recognized by Al. He has that lack of character. He is out to get what he can get, and really doesn’t care who he runs over to get it.
Sadly, that pretty much describes most of our politicians today who are driven to success, and it is one of the main culprits in the whole economic problem that led to last week’s congressional bail-out. Greed and selfishness have gotten in the way of service, sacrifice and humility - not to mention genuine leadership.
Yes, character counts. And the lack of it leads to a subtraction that hurts us all.