Original Entry: February 19, 2008
McMinnville, OR
3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; Romans 5:3-4
I will never forget the words that my college football coach Pat Malley spoke to his Santa Clara Bronco football team my freshman year of college, “Men, SC stands for style and class. You can tell the character of a man by how he handles losing.” Coach Malley lost his battle to cancer just a year later but the words of this Bronco legend have lived on in my mind all these years. Essentially, Coach Malley was trying to convey to his young players was that your character is not proven in winning but in how you handle adversity and defeat. In other words, character goes public under suffering, tribulations and adversity.
It is not proven in the thrill of victory but the agony of defeat.
Character is not given, it is proven.
I have written extensively about my 2007 Murders Creek backpack hunt because the experience shaped my character. Not knowing if I could physically handle it I took a high school senior from my youth group and together we experienced the worst case scenario of weather and not only persevered but thrived! That was a character forming experience for this, at the time, forty-two year old guy! When a man overcomes a difficult situation that forces him to persevere, his character is either proven to those who witness it or publically exposes his true colors.
A defeat in the area of character for a man, if not dealt with, can lead to depression, despair, desperation, or the deconstruction of everything he has come to believe in up to that point.
Look carefully at what verses 3-5 tells us happens when a man’s character is not proven through perseverance. Notice what happens when a man wins. Look at what happens when he survives the storms of life on top of the mountain.
He gains hope.
By the time of my New Mexico hunt, a short month later, I had the hope and confidence to handle any and every scenario that may come my way because I had survived the worst case scenario and was much better for it.
Romans 5:3-4 unlocks a progression through suffering that every man should note. Not only is suffering, perseverance, proven character, and hope a progression, but it is cyclical as well. Paul could “rejoice in Christ’s sufferings” because he knew what sufferings ultimately produced.
A man can get excited about the tough times of life once he has persevered through the storm and come out in victory on the other side. Surviving the storms of life shape his character until it is proven, resolute, and strong.
(Written by James William Ramos © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)
