The World’s Culture Needs A Character Makeover

A large percentage of the world’s culture is caught up in social media, entertainment, and the busyness of life. Alongside these things are those who are very emotionally immature adults causing a host of problems. Their emotional age lags far behind their physical age. Have you noticed that in the word “grownup” are the words “own up?” Some don’t want to own up to their wrongful attitudes and actions. They see nothing wrong with what they are doing so see no need to change. This is part of human nature not changed by the grace of God. These individuals could benefit from anger management and socialization skills.

However, all of us, both religious and secular, could do ourselves and those with whom we interact a big favor by cutting back on social media, entertainment, and the hectic pace of daily activities, and making time to focus on emotional and relational issues, and in the case of Christians, spiritual maturity.

1 Timothy 4:12 lists five areas on which to concentrate: “speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity.” These pretty much cover every aspect of life – how we talk to others, how we live our lives, how we love others, our religious faith, and having moral purity.

It also says in 1  Timothy 6:11 to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness.”  This verse is right in the middle of a passage on success and prosperity. In fact 1 Timothy 4:15 says to “practice and immerse yourself in these things,”

The world’s culture could use an emotional and spiritual makeover, from social media to constructive interaction with others. People will say things about others on social media that they would probably not say to their face, at least hopefully not.

For Christians, we can exhibit the fruits of the Holy Spirit given in Galatians 5:22-23, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

What a makeover it would be if more people would focus on developing character qualities. Colossians 3:2 says to “set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Here is a suggestion. Write down one of the listed character qualities on a 3 by 5 card to work on each week and post it somewhere as a reminder throughout the week.

Speech: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer”(Psalm 19:14).

Conduct: “Walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace”(Ephesians 4:1-3).

Love: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you”(Ephesians 4:32).

Faith: “For by grace you have been saved through faith”(Ephesians 2:8).

Purity: “Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me”(Psalm 51:10).