Character Counts

Today is Veteran’s Day and it got me thinking about the meaning of character. I don’t know if having good character is something you are born with or whether it is something that is learned and developed over time. But what I do know, is that in today’s crazy busy society our “character” is constantly being tested in small ways, as well every so often in a huge way. Let me give you two examples to think about.

I recently went to get a haircut from a young talkative hair stylist whom I’ve known for many years. She is newly married, so I asked her what attracted her to her new husband. She told me a story. They came out of a grocery store together after shopping and when they got to his car, he noticed what looked like a wad of money on the ground. He picked it up and said someone must have dropped their cash. He then said, “We need to wait here in case they come back.” My hair stylist friend said she told him the chances that the person will realize where they dropped it and come back any time soon are pretty slim, but he was determined to wait. They waited together for over an hour but eventually spotted a young mother with two small children scouring the parking lot for something. The smile on that woman’s face when she got her money back, was worth every minute of the wait.

A friend of mine and his wife were recently returning from vacation when they decided to stop at a large Outlet Center off the 60 Freeway. My friend was waiting outside a store while his wife shopped when he noticed a small crowd gathered nearby. He walked over and noticed that there were two Hispanic women frantically trying to perform the Heimlich maneuver on a small girl. It must have been the girl’s mother and grandmother who were trying to help her, but the girl wasn’t responding and went limp. My friend immediately stepped up to the women and put his hands out. With fear and desperation in her eyes, and a lifeless little girl in her arms, the mother handed her over to him. My friend flipped the little girl upside down over his knee and began pounding his palm into the girl’s back. He told me it seemed like forever but that it was probably only 10 seconds before the little girl coughed and spit up some fluid. A few seconds later, a large wad of popcorn came flying out. She choked and coughed some more, but she also started breathing again. The situation could have ended very badly, but it didn’t because someone had the character and the courage to step up and help.  

The two stories above might seem like two very different examples of character. One is simply about returning a lost item, while the other is about returning someone to life. But they are related… Because if we cannot be trusted to do what is right with the small things, how can we be counted on to do what’s right when there is a life on the line.

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much; 

and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

~ Luke 16:10