“Rarely anymore do people even talk about, or concern themselves with, the development of character—once called ‘virtue.’ It seems that so few today understand much about it.”

It is hard to believe that nearly two decades have passed since I wrote this in my booklet What Is True Conversion? Character was fast disappearing then, but now it is almost non-existent!

Continuing in the booklet: “Character is understanding—knowing—right from wrong and doing what is right instead of what is wrong! God reveals what is right—how to live. But righteous character is built through the power of free moral agency—deciding to do what is right. Like any muscle of the body, character is built by pushing against resistance, thus strengthening the muscle (in this case, the mind) undergoing the resistance. Character chooses to do what is right instead of choosing to do what is wrong. It does not concern itself with what others say or do. It only concerns itself with what God says to do!”

Politicians, no matter the country or affiliation, operate with the mentality that “the end justifies the means.” When problems appear—and they are everywhere—it is always someone else’s fault. Personal responsibility and accountability are rarely spoken of or considered.

A Crooked Generation

Leaders are far from the only problem. God in Deuteronomy 32:5 speaks of an entire generation that has “corrupted themselves,” further stating in the same verse that “they are a perverse and crooked generation.”

The apostle Peter warned, “Save yourselves from this untoward generation” (Acts 2:40). “Untoward” is a weak translation. The Greek word is skolios—think scoliosis, a condition in which a person’s spine unnaturally curves sideways. The word can mean warped, winding and finally perverse (the same word used in Deuteronomy).

Moses and Peter were not the only servants of God who understood this. The book of Proverbs long ago described horrific character decline that all with eyes to see can discern has arrived: “There is a generation that curses their father, and does not bless their mother” (30:11). Think about how brazenly the young now disrespect the old.

Continuing in the next verse, “There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness” (vs. 12). Think. It is impossible to guide or correct those who already have life “figured out.”

Verse 13 speaks to the pandemic of pride palpable on social media: “There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up.”

So vicious and quick to verbally—or even physically—attack is this generation that Proverbs further prophesied, “There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men” (vs. 14).

Shine as Lights

Understanding each of these Bible passages, the apostle Paul counsels Christians to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”—take it seriously!—“For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation…” (Phil. 2:12-15).

Verse 15 concludes with the sharp contrast Christians should draw: “among whom you shine as lights in the world.”

The book of Genesis contains a little-understood conversation between the Father and the Word, who would become Jesus Christ: “And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth” (1:26).

They carried out the plan in verse 27: “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.”

Understand. God created mankind to be like Him. This is why Christ taught, “Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). The Greek for “be” is actually become. Put plainly, Christians are to become like God—growing in His character.

Christ is called “the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:29). It is why He taught: “You must be born again” (John 3:7). It was always God’s purpose to reproduce Himself in those He made in His image and likeness.

The conversion process makes this possible. When a person repents, turning from his own ways and adopting God’s ways, as explained in His Law, he develops character. When they are baptized and receive God’s Holy Spirit, this process is aided and greatly accelerated.

Over time, a Christian becomes more and more like God and reaches the point of being ready to be born into His Family.

That Family will soon help billions—all who have ever lived!—understand the character-building process so they, too, can become sons and daughters of God.

Request my free book The Awesome Potential of Man to learn more about why God is building His character in human beings—and how you can develop the same character in your own life.