‘Dad, if you could have one superpower, which would you rather have; flight or invisibility?’ This has become one of my son’s favorite games in recent months. Every week, I get posed with some random binary choice. The other day, he posed a rather more interesting question.
‘Dad, would you rather be rich with no friends or a poor but a good person?’
I smelled a teaching opportunity.
The answer is obvious. God is more concerned with who we are and our relationship with him than with what we have, and so should we be.
A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
Proverbs 22:1
My son’s question, though rather simplistic, boils down to one of character. In the context, he meant financial riches but this could equally be applied to other contexts including:
- Charisma
- Talent
- Abilities or
- Skills
Character beats charisma. In life, and in business, I will choose character over any one of the above traits every time. Character has more value in business, in ministry and in life.
Money, charisma, talent and abilities; these are all things we, as people, have to a greater or lesser degree. But character goes to who we are!
By way of example, as a business owner, the most talented employee in the world is worthless to your company if they can’t be bothered to show up at the office and do a day’s work.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:23-24
I have seen the most talented and charismatic employees ruin a company because they missed appointments, showed up drunk for work or simply because they had no work ethic. Sadly, these talented people are often natural leaders. This only makes things worse. The rot spreads quickly as less talented employees begin to follow their talented co-worker’s lead. If you don’t take things in hand, you will quickly end up with an unproductive workforce that has zero work-ethic.
Character Beats Charisma
And what about the individuals themselves? It breaks my heart to see people with all the charisma, skills and ability in the world wasting their lives simply because they have no strength of character. People who could be anything they want; only to end up broken, bitter and frustrated all because they had no strength of character.
Character beats charisma every time!
Sure, charisma and talent are the things that catch our eyes and captivate our hearts and minds. But character is where true strength lies. This often goes unseen. It is found in the hours of dedication and effort we put into the things that are important, when nobody is watching. It is in the grit and determination we show to keep going when others might quit. It reveals itself when life presents us with an easy choice, versus the right choice. Character always makes the right choice, especially when it is hard.
I even use this as the last line of defense when my children ask me why they should bother with a particular aspect of their school-work.
‘Why do I need to learn this William Shakespeare stuff? When am I ever going to use it in the real world?’ they wail.
In truth, I don’t have a good answer. I asked the same question when I was their age. And, if I’m honest, I have never needed to reference Shakespeare’s work in my career and am none the poorer for it.
However, I have learned that sometimes life requires us to do things we don’t want to do. Things that are, perhaps, tedious and don’t necessarily make sense to us. People of strong character dig deep and do what is needed, even when they don’t want to. If that is all my children learn from those subjects they hate most in school, I’ll take the win.
This is called work-ethic and it shows strength of character.
So, to answer my son’s question, when it comes to a choice between money, talent, charisma or ability versus Godly character, I choose character – and I pray that, as he grows, he learns to do the same.
Character beats charisma. God seeks people of character. These are the people that quietly make the world a better place . I aim to teach my children this value at an early age and I will seek out every opportunity to do so.