I heard a well-known American professional football coach and TV sports commentator, Herm Edwards, say, “Good character, like good soup, is made at home.” When I heard it I thought of my wife Nancy’s homemade soups. I often enjoy them as a satisfying meal. Coach Edwards’ words are a good metaphor of the family as God intended it to be. Unfortunately, our present day world has redefined character in non-biblical ways and tried to make the traditional family of no effect. Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV) says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Many of us have not benefited from traditional, loving, two-parent homes. Our training was either nonexistent or improper. The result was wrong worldviews that resulted in wrong action. When we became born again, we became capable of moving beyond what the past may have kept from us or offered us. As part of the church family, we can learn and grow in ways that broken homes never allowed. We can benefit from our new environment and become people of good character with successful lives.
Jeremiah 15:16 (NKJV) says, “Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.” When we read God’s Word, the challenge for us is to digest its truths. Scripture invites us to feed our spirits and strengthen our abilities to become people of godly character.