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"For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
—Matthew 12:34–37

A person's character lies in the ability to successfully live outwardly all that he or she believes inwardly. In a scriptural context it might better be said: "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7 KJV). Our character then is being formed minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day. The words we speak, the actions we take, and the choices we make are all public postings of our inner self. When those words, actions, and choices form a pattern that roughly resembles Jesus, then we can be assured that we are becoming people of character.

Character is important because—as John Donne so famously put it—"no man is an island." Our character is not on display for God-He already knows us better than we can know ourselves. Our character is important to us personally only to the extent that godliness will only flourish in an honest heart. People who deny the truth about themselves and their utter need for the under-girding hand of the Almighty, will soon find themselves "kicking against the goads" (see Acts 9:4–5). Our character then, is most important because it is that which links us with the rest of God's creation—our fellow man. Character is the agent that bonds us to others, it forms the pedestal upon which we can stand to proclaim truth; it builds the bridges upon which family, friends, and neighbors can safely come into our world and feel trusted. In the end, a person of character will never be alone.

We develop character when we look earnestly past ourselves, look passionately into the eyes of our Savior, and look steadfastly at the path we are intended to follow. "Casting his gaze" upon the fields of the Jordan Valley brought Lot to live in a place called Sodom. When God passed judgment on that place, Lot's wife herself "looked back" upon the city of her affections and suffered an untimely demise. So it is when building character, we must keep our eyes on Jesus, on His Word, and on His path for us. Looking longingly at the world will take us off the path that leads to our personal Promised Land and strong character.

There was a day when "a man's word was his bond." Those days ceased at about the same time the buck stopped at Harry Truman's desk. Today, contracts and agreements are uniformly ignored and contested, vows are mere technical obstacles to divorce, and truth is only true in the eye of the beholder. A person of character will not look lightly on such things. A person of character will, in fact, be imprisoned by his or her own words-and will build that prison carefully and gladly sleep within its walls.