Character Creep

I get the privilege of teaching a group of our teenagers the book Deadly Viper by Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite.  These guys both nailed it on the head with this book as they tackle the topic of character assassins.  You never see the assassin coming but before you realize it, it is over, and so are the attacks on our character.  It can take a lifetime to develop character and only a moment to destroy it.  I am praying for myself and our staff that God will protect us, but just as important that we will not put ourselves in positions to fail.  So I wanted to give a couple key points and quotes from the Character Creep chapter that really spoke to our teens and may speak to you as well.

 

• Character Creep SLOWLY steals integrity.
• Moment by moment we are building a life, a reputation.
• Everything we have worked so hard to build can be destroyed in a matter of moments.
• If you’re not willing to be bold with fellow friends to the point of risking the friendship, then your friendship has superficial value.  Oscar Wilde once said, “True friends stab you in the front.”
• The more senior your leadership role is, the less honest criticism you’ll receive from those around you.
• Success By Default: You don’t have to be the most gifted leader or person.  If you just stay faithful over the long haul, carefully manage the small things, then you’ll be the last person standing!  You will have attained success by default.
• We are second chance people in the second chance business.
• The simple defense against Character Creep is to pay attention to the little adjustments.
• Refrain from doing anything today we’d be uncomfortable reading about int he headlines tomorrow.

They asked a great question, “How would your life change if you knew you’d see it all played out on television tomorrow?” The challenge is to live each day as if those details could be broadcast to the world.  Living this way provides a fatal blow to the assassin.