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This is a Bible class

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about ethics. Now,

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when people hear something

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about ethics,

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they often get quite excited

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because they think, oh, great.

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I love talking about

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hard issues,

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controversial things like these

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real delicate sort of questions

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about what's right and what's

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wrong in a certain situation.

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And they get kind of interested

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in that discussion.

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But I'll warn you

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right up front,

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that's not what we're doing

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in this Bible study.

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I'm not going to ask hard

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questions like if you have this

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situation, what should you do?

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That's really not what

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I'm interested in.

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Because ethics is really much

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broader than simply questions

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about what do you do in

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a tough situation.

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Ethics is simply the discussion

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about human behavior.

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How are we supposed to act?

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How are we supposed to be?

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And maybe those are the two

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words that are best associated

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with ethics how are we

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supposed to act?

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What are we supposed to do and

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how are we supposed to be?

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What kind of people

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should we be?

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And I'm really more interested

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in that second part of this

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question about ethics what kind

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of people are we supposed to be?

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I find that to be a really

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fascinating question and one

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that really is very

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important to ask,

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especially within the context

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of Christian faith.

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And that's where we're coming

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from because this is a Bible

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study and we will get

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to the Bible,

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but I want to do a little

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teaching about just this whole

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question about human behavior.

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Questions like who are

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we supposed to be?

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And what are we supposed to do?

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Have been bothering people or

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intriguing people

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for a long time.

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The ancient Greeks considered

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this a critical part of any

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philosophical discussion.

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You would do things like

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metaphysics and you would do

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things like epistemology,

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but then you would always get to

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the question that mattered,

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really kind of the practical

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question that mattered

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the most ethics.

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How are we supposed to behave

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based on what we've

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been teaching?

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So nowadays we have people who

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are doing business ethics and

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medical ethics and political

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ethics, but as Christians,

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we should also be very

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interested in ethics.

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How are we supposed to function

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in this world?

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The old word we would use often

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not a bad word because it's old

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is sanctification. Great word,

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really,

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because it means the process

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of being made holy,

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which is really kind of what

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ethics is all about.

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This whole question about how we

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are to behave and how we are

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becoming more and more holy or

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more and more like what God

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wants us to do. Sanctification,

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though,

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is a word that's very broad and

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has lots of people filling it in

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with all kinds of meanings,

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some of which is not so helpful,

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some which can be kind

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of confusing.

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So I'd rather maybe just kind of

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back off of that a little bit

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and just talk about ethics.

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How are we supposed to live?

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So in the old days,

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people would talk about ethics

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and they would say, well,

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there are two basic approaches

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to ethics.

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There is an ethics of duty or

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sometimes called deontology,

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or there's an ethics of ends

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justifying the means or an ethic

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of figuring out what to do

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in a concrete situation.

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They would call utilitarian

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ethics. And basically.

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Ethicists would divide between

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the camp of are you

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a deontologist?

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Is there a set of rules

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you simply have to do?

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Or are you a utilitarian?

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Are there goals you're trying to

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achieve and then you figure out

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what's going to get you to that

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goal and that's all

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that matters.

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And those two camps would kind

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of fight back and forth and they

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would raise questions like,

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all right,

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suppose you're in this

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situation, what should you do?

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And a deontologist would say,

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well, what do the rules say?

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And utilitarian would say,

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what are we trying

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to accomplish?

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And that's going to determine

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what we do.

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And some of you maybe remember a

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few years back when I was

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quite a bit younger,

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one of the real popular things

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to do in group building,

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dynamic kinds of things or group

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team building efforts.

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Was the scenario of

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suppose you're in a situation in

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a lifeboat and it's overcrowded

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and there are too many

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people on board,

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and what are you going to do

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in a situation like that?

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And then they would start giving

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you the scenario of you have

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this kind of person on board.

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You've got an old priest and

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you've got a young neosurgeon

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and you've got a political

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up and comer,

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and you've got a mother

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of twins,

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and you've got a middle

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aged florist,

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and you only have room for four.

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You got six people who

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should stay on board.

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And then you would have all this

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big discussion that would kind

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of foment all this sort

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of stuff. Well,

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that's classic utilitarian

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kind of ethics.

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And even the deontologists got

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into that because they would

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start talking about duties and

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things we need to do and then

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people get kind of confused

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that they think, oh,

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that's what ethics is all about,

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making those kinds of hard

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choices. Frankly,

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that's really not what

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ethics is all about.

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Ethics is much more interested

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in simply saying what kind of

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people are we supposed to

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do in everyday life?

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And that approach to ethics has

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an even older heritage and it's

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often called virtue ethics.

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It's an ethics that says what

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kind of people are we

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supposed to be?

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What kind of virtues are

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characteristic of people who are

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rightly ordered and

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rightly living?

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And those became issues which

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sort of got lost in all the

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hubbub of utilitarianism

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and deontology.

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But it's been revived of late

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and in the late 20th century

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there were several thinkers like

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Alastair McIntyre and Gilbert

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Myeilaender and Stanley Hauerwas

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who started kind of pushing this

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discussion back into the front

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and saying it really does matter

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what kind of people we are.

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And maybe instead of trying to

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figure out what we should do in

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these hard gray area situations

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at the margins of life or at the

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tough situations where you have

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to figure out what would you

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do if this happened?

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Instead of asking those

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kinds of questions,

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maybe we should be saying what

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is the more important thing and

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the more important thing is what

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kind of people are we in the

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day to day routine of life?

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In the Monday through Saturday

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routine of life and on the

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Sunday routine of going to

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church what kind of

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person are you?

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What kind of person are you?

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When you talk to your kids what

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kind of person are you?

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When you are at work interacting

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with your workmates who

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are you as a person?

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And that's where virtue ethics

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comes into play.

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And that's where this key word

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comes in which I'm very

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interested in,

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which is the word character

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because character is the goal

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of virtue ethics while good

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character not just

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any character.

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You've heard about people who

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are a character.

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That's not what we're

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talking about here.

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We're talking about people who

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are being molded into what

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they're supposed to be and

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having good character.

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Character, St. Paul tells us,

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is the result of the process of

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kind of being formed and shaped,

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and you go through perseverance,

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and perseverance builds

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character.

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We're told Paul talks about

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this in Romans,

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and that's kind of what

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we're interested in.

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There's this idea of how

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character becomes part of who

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we are and how it shapes us.

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The Greeks tell us that the root

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of character is actually well,

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in the Greek language is to cut

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and inscribe and to

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kind of carve in.

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So when you're carving

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something,

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you're cutting into it.

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That's what character is.

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Character is something that is

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carved into us and built into us

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and laid down through time,

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and it becomes part of who we

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are. Character, in many ways,

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can be seen as the sum total of

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what makes a person a person.

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It's not quite the same

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as personality,

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and it's not just the same

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thing as your soul.

294
00:06:58,322 --> 00:06:59,657
Your character is the kind

295
00:06:59,657 --> 00:07:01,193
of person you are,

296
00:07:01,193 --> 00:07:03,105
who you are as an individual.

297
00:07:03,105 --> 00:07:05,241
The Greeks or the philosophers

298
00:07:05,241 --> 00:07:07,246
sometimes use the term agency.

299
00:07:07,246 --> 00:07:07,893
In other words,

300
00:07:07,893 --> 00:07:09,294
the person who is responsible,

301
00:07:09,294 --> 00:07:10,972
the person who's doing things,

302
00:07:10,972 --> 00:07:13,044
that person is doing stuff.

303
00:07:13,044 --> 00:07:14,317
And the way that person does

304
00:07:14,317 --> 00:07:15,750
things, the way they operate,

305
00:07:15,750 --> 00:07:16,969
the way they think,

306
00:07:16,969 --> 00:07:18,760
the way they are all of

307
00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:19,489
that taken together,

308
00:07:19,489 --> 00:07:21,754
becomes their character.

309
00:07:21,754 --> 00:07:22,689
It's been said,

310
00:07:22,689 --> 00:07:24,146
and I believe correctly,

311
00:07:24,146 --> 00:07:25,889
that you really don't know

312
00:07:25,889 --> 00:07:27,857
somebody's character until you

313
00:07:27,857 --> 00:07:29,361
can see their whole

314
00:07:29,361 --> 00:07:30,841
life together.

315
00:07:30,841 --> 00:07:32,037
You kind of back up and

316
00:07:32,037 --> 00:07:32,878
see the big picture.

317
00:07:32,878 --> 00:07:33,965
And when you see a life

318
00:07:33,965 --> 00:07:35,557
whole and complete,

319
00:07:35,557 --> 00:07:37,789
then you start to see character.

320
00:07:37,789 --> 00:07:39,284
Then you say, oh,

321
00:07:39,284 --> 00:07:40,398
that's what that person's

322
00:07:40,398 --> 00:07:41,661
character was like.

323
00:07:41,661 --> 00:07:43,181
Sometimes we get surprised when

324
00:07:43,181 --> 00:07:44,481
we think we know a person and we

325
00:07:44,481 --> 00:07:45,289
know the kind of person

326
00:07:45,289 --> 00:07:46,273
they are,

327
00:07:46,273 --> 00:07:47,313
and we think we know

328
00:07:47,313 --> 00:07:48,130
their character.

329
00:07:48,130 --> 00:07:49,601
And then it turns out

330
00:07:49,601 --> 00:07:50,714
there's a surprise.

331
00:07:50,714 --> 00:07:52,370
It's not quite what we expected.

332
00:07:52,370 --> 00:07:53,594
They did something we didn't

333
00:07:53,594 --> 00:07:55,073
think they would do. Either

334
00:07:55,073 --> 00:07:56,178
maybe they were more noble

335
00:07:56,178 --> 00:07:57,033
than we thought,

336
00:07:57,033 --> 00:07:58,693
or maybe it just happens

337
00:07:58,693 --> 00:07:59,397
more often.

338
00:07:59,397 --> 00:08:01,054
They were a little more broken

339
00:08:01,054 --> 00:08:02,734
or a little more immoral

340
00:08:02,734 --> 00:08:03,661
than we had thought,

341
00:08:03,661 --> 00:08:05,260
and we get disappointed by that.

342
00:08:05,260 --> 00:08:06,797
And so character really has to

343
00:08:06,797 --> 00:08:08,702
be seen only in the context

344
00:08:08,702 --> 00:08:09,953
of an entire life.

345
00:08:09,953 --> 00:08:11,353
Somebody has even said that you

346
00:08:11,353 --> 00:08:12,562
really don't know somebody's

347
00:08:12,562 --> 00:08:13,377
character until that

348
00:08:13,377 --> 00:08:14,522
person is dead,

349
00:08:14,522 --> 00:08:15,616
and you can look back and

350
00:08:15,616 --> 00:08:16,689
examine their whole life.

351
00:08:16,689 --> 00:08:17,520
Then you say,

352
00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:19,193
that person had character.

353
00:08:19,193 --> 00:08:20,162
I think maybe that's

354
00:08:20,162 --> 00:08:21,041
true as well.

355
00:08:21,041 --> 00:08:22,177
So character is a

356
00:08:22,177 --> 00:08:22,949
big issue here.

357
00:08:22,949 --> 00:08:23,957
This idea of who we

358
00:08:23,957 --> 00:08:24,933
are as a person,

359
00:08:24,933 --> 00:08:26,253
the kind of person we are as

360
00:08:26,253 --> 00:08:27,437
we interact with others.

361
00:08:27,437 --> 00:08:28,478
That's what character

362
00:08:28,478 --> 00:08:29,301
is all about.

363
00:08:29,301 --> 00:08:30,253
And that's what we're interested

364
00:08:30,253 --> 00:08:31,973
in exploring here today.

365
00:08:31,973 --> 00:08:33,212
And over these next few

366
00:08:33,212 --> 00:08:34,035
sessions together,

367
00:08:34,035 --> 00:08:36,018
as we think about the character

368
00:08:36,018 --> 00:08:37,561
that God would have us to have

369
00:08:37,561 --> 00:08:39,416
and why character matters for

370
00:08:39,416 --> 00:08:40,577
us as Christian people.

371
00:08:40,577 --> 00:08:42,193
And some of the things that play

372
00:08:42,193 --> 00:08:43,722
into forming and shaping

373
00:08:43,722 --> 00:08:44,425
character,

374
00:08:44,425 --> 00:08:45,642
the character matters,

375
00:08:45,642 --> 00:08:46,521
the things that pertain

376
00:08:46,521 --> 00:08:47,530
to character.

377
00:08:47,530 --> 00:08:48,353
So when we're thinking

378
00:08:48,353 --> 00:08:49,306
about character,

379
00:08:49,306 --> 00:08:50,513
one of the people who comes

380
00:08:50,513 --> 00:08:52,009
to mind, at least to me,

381
00:08:52,009 --> 00:08:55,220
maybe to you as well, is David.

382
00:08:55,220 --> 00:08:57,497
Because David. Old Testament

383
00:08:57,497 --> 00:08:57,762
David

384
00:08:57,762 --> 00:08:59,266
I'm talking about. King David,

385
00:08:59,266 --> 00:09:00,150
the shepherd

386
00:09:00,150 --> 00:09:01,953
boy. King David the one

387
00:09:01,953 --> 00:09:03,386
anointed by Samuel.

388
00:09:03,386 --> 00:09:05,841
King David who is anointed to

389
00:09:05,841 --> 00:09:07,473
be king and who's got

390
00:09:07,473 --> 00:09:08,178
that trajectory,

391
00:09:08,178 --> 00:09:09,881
but then who spends a long time

392
00:09:09,881 --> 00:09:11,226
in the court of Saul,

393
00:09:11,226 --> 00:09:13,202
waiting for the prophecy

394
00:09:13,202 --> 00:09:14,122
to be fulfilled,

395
00:09:14,122 --> 00:09:15,002
waiting for the promise

396
00:09:15,002 --> 00:09:15,393
to happen,

397
00:09:15,393 --> 00:09:16,560
waiting for the kingship to

398
00:09:16,560 --> 00:09:18,370
be given. That David.

399
00:09:18,370 --> 00:09:19,416
The David who goes on

400
00:09:19,416 --> 00:09:20,314
to write Psalms,

401
00:09:20,314 --> 00:09:22,346
the David who goes on to be King

402
00:09:22,346 --> 00:09:24,806
of Israel, the first great king.

403
00:09:24,806 --> 00:09:26,866
David who is the messianic

404
00:09:26,866 --> 00:09:27,738
forebearer,

405
00:09:27,738 --> 00:09:29,769
the one who has said that your

406
00:09:29,769 --> 00:09:31,514
reign will last forever.

407
00:09:31,514 --> 00:09:32,882
That David.

408
00:09:32,882 --> 00:09:34,017
That David who has some

409
00:09:34,017 --> 00:09:34,577
problems too.

410
00:09:34,577 --> 00:09:35,241
But we'll get to that

411
00:09:35,241 --> 00:09:36,018
in a minute.

412
00:09:36,018 --> 00:09:37,977
The reason David comes to mind

413
00:09:37,977 --> 00:09:39,649
is because David is actually

414
00:09:39,649 --> 00:09:41,446
described in the New Testament,

415
00:09:41,446 --> 00:09:42,614
in the Book of Acts,

416
00:09:42,614 --> 00:09:43,973
and also in the Old Testament,

417
00:09:43,973 --> 00:09:44,726
Samuel,

418
00:09:44,726 --> 00:09:46,492
he's described as a man who

419
00:09:46,492 --> 00:09:49,053
is after God's own heart.

420
00:09:49,053 --> 00:09:50,989
The God himself says,

421
00:09:50,989 --> 00:09:53,415
David is my guy.

422
00:09:53,415 --> 00:09:55,673
David's my kind of man.

423
00:09:55,673 --> 00:09:57,040
David's the way it's supposed to

424
00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:59,153
be, a man after my own heart.

425
00:09:59,153 --> 00:10:00,857
Now we can think about that and

426
00:10:00,857 --> 00:10:02,393
think, yeah, that makes sense.

427
00:10:02,393 --> 00:10:03,866
David wrote the psalms.

428
00:10:03,866 --> 00:10:05,337
David prophesied about

429
00:10:05,337 --> 00:10:06,446
the coming Messiah.

430
00:10:06,446 --> 00:10:08,046
David was a great king.

431
00:10:08,046 --> 00:10:09,742
David wanted to build a temple

432
00:10:09,742 --> 00:10:10,773
for God and he had his

433
00:10:10,773 --> 00:10:12,053
priorities right and he

434
00:10:12,053 --> 00:10:13,485
did things right.

435
00:10:13,485 --> 00:10:16,069
But David had some problems too,

436
00:10:16,069 --> 00:10:17,653
and David had more than his

437
00:10:17,653 --> 00:10:19,698
share of shortcomings.

438
00:10:19,698 --> 00:10:21,370
Immediately we think about David

439
00:10:21,370 --> 00:10:22,689
and you think about his

440
00:10:22,689 --> 00:10:23,682
Psalms and his glory,

441
00:10:23,682 --> 00:10:25,217
but then you think almost in the

442
00:10:25,217 --> 00:10:26,313
same sentence or in the same

443
00:10:26,313 --> 00:10:27,673
thought about, oh yeah,

444
00:10:27,673 --> 00:10:28,722
then there's the Bathsheba

445
00:10:28,722 --> 00:10:29,135
thing.

446
00:10:29,135 --> 00:10:30,822
There's that whole falling

447
00:10:30,822 --> 00:10:31,598
into temptation.

448
00:10:31,598 --> 00:10:33,085
There's the whole cover up.

449
00:10:33,085 --> 00:10:34,837
There's the killing of her

450
00:10:34,837 --> 00:10:37,252
husband, all of that. Wow.

451
00:10:37,252 --> 00:10:38,724
That's David, too.

452
00:10:38,724 --> 00:10:40,125
And then we begin to wonder,

453
00:10:40,125 --> 00:10:40,637
well,

454
00:10:40,637 --> 00:10:42,406
does David really have character

455
00:10:42,406 --> 00:10:44,497
or is he terribly broken man?

456
00:10:44,497 --> 00:10:45,497
And I would say the

457
00:10:45,497 --> 00:10:46,625
answer is yeah,

458
00:10:46,625 --> 00:10:48,416
he is a terribly broken man.

459
00:10:48,416 --> 00:10:48,992
And yeah,

460
00:10:48,992 --> 00:10:50,322
he does have character.

461
00:10:50,322 --> 00:10:51,593
God says he does.

462
00:10:51,593 --> 00:10:53,841
So character is more than just

463
00:10:53,841 --> 00:10:55,601
doing all the right stuff.

464
00:10:55,601 --> 00:10:56,981
Character has to do with the

465
00:10:56,981 --> 00:10:58,213
kind of individual you

466
00:10:58,213 --> 00:10:59,701
are as a human being.

467
00:10:59,701 --> 00:11:01,333
And I think one of the things

468
00:11:01,333 --> 00:11:03,197
that really sets David apart and

469
00:11:03,197 --> 00:11:05,125
what makes David a man after

470
00:11:05,125 --> 00:11:07,573
God's own heart is the very way

471
00:11:07,573 --> 00:11:09,673
that David acts and the way he

472
00:11:09,673 --> 00:11:11,513
responds when he does end

473
00:11:11,513 --> 00:11:13,514
up in his horrible sin.

474
00:11:13,514 --> 00:11:14,617
Think what happens.

475
00:11:14,617 --> 00:11:16,416
He covers it up and he's trying

476
00:11:16,416 --> 00:11:18,127
to play like it didn't happen.

477
00:11:18,127 --> 00:11:19,773
But then Nathan comes

478
00:11:19,773 --> 00:11:20,765
and confronts him.

479
00:11:20,765 --> 00:11:21,893
And at that point,

480
00:11:21,893 --> 00:11:23,565
David actually does the hard

481
00:11:23,565 --> 00:11:25,534
thing. He repents,

482
00:11:25,534 --> 00:11:26,749
he comes clean,

483
00:11:26,749 --> 00:11:29,062
he admits it and he professes

484
00:11:29,062 --> 00:11:29,870
his brokenness.

485
00:11:29,870 --> 00:11:31,156
And you can read it more

486
00:11:31,156 --> 00:11:31,942
than one psalm.

487
00:11:31,942 --> 00:11:33,317
David talks about how when

488
00:11:33,317 --> 00:11:34,398
he was hiding his sin,

489
00:11:34,398 --> 00:11:35,896
his life was wasting away and

490
00:11:35,896 --> 00:11:37,128
how he was falling away.

491
00:11:37,128 --> 00:11:38,617
But then he repented and he

492
00:11:38,617 --> 00:11:40,066
turned back and God received

493
00:11:40,066 --> 00:11:41,578
him in grace and mercy.

494
00:11:41,578 --> 00:11:42,752
And I think one of the great

495
00:11:42,752 --> 00:11:44,377
things that sets david apart is

496
00:11:44,377 --> 00:11:46,137
that his whole entire life was

497
00:11:46,137 --> 00:11:48,641
lived rightly related to God,

498
00:11:48,641 --> 00:11:50,186
which is, for a Christian,

499
00:11:50,186 --> 00:11:52,370
the essence of real character.

500
00:11:52,370 --> 00:11:53,953
Am I living the way that God has

501
00:11:53,953 --> 00:11:55,497
called me to live rightly

502
00:11:55,497 --> 00:11:56,569
related to God?

503
00:11:56,569 --> 00:11:57,641
Rightly related to the

504
00:11:57,641 --> 00:11:58,537
people around me?

505
00:11:58,537 --> 00:12:00,095
David exemplifies this.

506
00:12:00,095 --> 00:12:02,145
He had character built into him.

507
00:12:02,145 --> 00:12:04,041
He was practicing the character.

508
00:12:04,041 --> 00:12:06,122
He was being driven into God's

509
00:12:06,122 --> 00:12:07,242
ways and being shaped

510
00:12:07,242 --> 00:12:08,121
into God's ways,

511
00:12:08,121 --> 00:12:09,337
so his conscience was

512
00:12:09,337 --> 00:12:10,944
functioning the right way.

513
00:12:10,944 --> 00:12:13,138
We see this also earlier

514
00:12:13,138 --> 00:12:14,210
in David's career,

515
00:12:14,210 --> 00:12:16,314
and it's the story that Samuel

516
00:12:16,314 --> 00:12:18,497
records for us in First Samuel 24,

517
00:12:18,497 --> 00:12:21,353
a story about when David was

518
00:12:21,353 --> 00:12:23,529
waiting to be the new king and

519
00:12:23,529 --> 00:12:25,038
Saul was still the king,

520
00:12:25,038 --> 00:12:26,337
and Saul had decided that

521
00:12:26,337 --> 00:12:27,338
David was a threat.

522
00:12:27,338 --> 00:12:28,848
And so David had been running

523
00:12:28,848 --> 00:12:29,978
and fleeing from Saul.

524
00:12:29,978 --> 00:12:30,769
You remember the story.

525
00:12:30,769 --> 00:12:31,738
He hung out in caves.

526
00:12:31,738 --> 00:12:32,882
He had his band of faithful

527
00:12:32,882 --> 00:12:33,649
men around him,

528
00:12:33,649 --> 00:12:35,833
and David was trying to kind of

529
00:12:35,833 --> 00:12:38,265
hold his own and make his way,

530
00:12:38,265 --> 00:12:39,602
even though Saul was the king.

531
00:12:39,602 --> 00:12:42,097
And Saul was not thrilled about

532
00:12:42,097 --> 00:12:43,396
David being out there and was

533
00:12:43,396 --> 00:12:44,853
actually hunting David down.

534
00:12:44,853 --> 00:12:45,156
Well,

535
00:12:45,156 --> 00:12:46,605
the story is told at one point

536
00:12:46,605 --> 00:12:48,597
where Saul went into a cave and

537
00:12:48,597 --> 00:12:49,693
David went in there too,

538
00:12:49,693 --> 00:12:51,165
because his own men were hiding

539
00:12:51,165 --> 00:12:51,973
in that same cave.

540
00:12:51,973 --> 00:12:53,621
And the men said, David, look,

541
00:12:53,621 --> 00:12:54,898
God has just delivered Saul

542
00:12:54,898 --> 00:12:55,801
right into your hands.

543
00:12:55,801 --> 00:12:56,537
Go kill him.

544
00:12:56,537 --> 00:12:57,650
You can become king.

545
00:12:57,650 --> 00:12:58,937
So David creeps over and

546
00:12:58,937 --> 00:12:59,777
what does he do?

547
00:12:59,777 --> 00:13:01,562
He cuts off a corner of Saul's

548
00:13:01,562 --> 00:13:03,837
garment and lets Saul go.

549
00:13:03,837 --> 00:13:05,221
And then later,

550
00:13:05,221 --> 00:13:07,837
David is bothered by this.

551
00:13:07,837 --> 00:13:10,237
He's bothered because he cut off

552
00:13:10,237 --> 00:13:12,046
the corner of Saul's garment

553
00:13:12,046 --> 00:13:13,237
and in a sense,

554
00:13:13,237 --> 00:13:15,262
humiliated Saul and it troubles

555
00:13:15,262 --> 00:13:16,462
him. And he thinks,

556
00:13:16,462 --> 00:13:17,661
I shouldn't have done that,

557
00:13:17,661 --> 00:13:19,013
which is incredible to us

558
00:13:19,013 --> 00:13:20,322
because we think, good grief,

559
00:13:20,322 --> 00:13:20,642
David,

560
00:13:20,642 --> 00:13:21,617
you at least didn't kill him

561
00:13:21,617 --> 00:13:22,425
when you had a chance.

562
00:13:22,425 --> 00:13:22,817
But see,

563
00:13:22,817 --> 00:13:24,514
David wouldn't think of harming

564
00:13:24,514 --> 00:13:26,097
him because Saul was

565
00:13:26,097 --> 00:13:27,153
put there by God.

566
00:13:27,153 --> 00:13:28,313
And David has to wait

567
00:13:28,313 --> 00:13:29,338
for God's timing.

568
00:13:29,338 --> 00:13:31,053
David has to wait for God to

569
00:13:31,053 --> 00:13:32,534
bring about his fulfillment.

570
00:13:32,534 --> 00:13:34,005
David won't push it.

571
00:13:34,005 --> 00:13:35,269
That's part of what

572
00:13:35,269 --> 00:13:36,294
shows character.

573
00:13:36,294 --> 00:13:37,485
That's when you begin to say,

574
00:13:37,485 --> 00:13:37,997
wow,

575
00:13:37,997 --> 00:13:39,477
David's a guy who's got it

576
00:13:39,477 --> 00:13:40,942
together. He's upright.

577
00:13:40,942 --> 00:13:43,629
He's waiting for God to

578
00:13:43,629 --> 00:13:44,770
give him the kingship.

579
00:13:44,770 --> 00:13:46,258
He's waiting for God to handle

580
00:13:46,258 --> 00:13:47,257
Saul the right way,

581
00:13:47,257 --> 00:13:47,929
the right time.

582
00:13:47,929 --> 00:13:49,209
He's not going to push it.

583
00:13:49,209 --> 00:13:50,721
He's not going to do that.

584
00:13:50,721 --> 00:13:53,017
So David then shows us an

585
00:13:53,017 --> 00:13:54,281
example of what character

586
00:13:54,281 --> 00:13:54,888
looks like.

587
00:13:54,888 --> 00:13:56,569
It's a man who's willing to wait

588
00:13:56,569 --> 00:13:58,694
on God. It's a woman who says,

589
00:13:58,694 --> 00:14:00,829
I'm going to do this the way God

590
00:14:00,829 --> 00:14:01,861
would call me to do this is

591
00:14:01,861 --> 00:14:03,213
the kind of person I am.

592
00:14:03,213 --> 00:14:04,396
And what we're thinking about

593
00:14:04,396 --> 00:14:05,877
when we think about character is

594
00:14:05,877 --> 00:14:07,517
helping people to become the

595
00:14:07,517 --> 00:14:08,881
kind of people they should be,

596
00:14:08,881 --> 00:14:10,321
so that in any situation

597
00:14:10,321 --> 00:14:11,313
they find themselves,

598
00:14:11,313 --> 00:14:13,433
whether it's a tough end of life

599
00:14:13,433 --> 00:14:14,913
kind of gray area situation,

600
00:14:14,913 --> 00:14:16,402
or it's an overloaded

601
00:14:16,402 --> 00:14:17,361
lifeboat situation,

602
00:14:17,361 --> 00:14:18,416
which I doubt many

603
00:14:18,416 --> 00:14:19,393
of us will face.

604
00:14:19,393 --> 00:14:21,613
Or it's a situation of having

605
00:14:21,613 --> 00:14:23,542
the opportunity to bring shame

606
00:14:23,542 --> 00:14:25,014
and humiliation to our enemy

607
00:14:25,014 --> 00:14:26,509
and choosing not to.

608
00:14:26,509 --> 00:14:28,069
Or maybe it's just the question

609
00:14:28,069 --> 00:14:29,396
of how do I talk to

610
00:14:29,396 --> 00:14:30,516
my kids today?

611
00:14:30,516 --> 00:14:33,521
Or how am I going to fill out

612
00:14:33,521 --> 00:14:34,977
my tax form this year?

613
00:14:34,977 --> 00:14:37,834
Or do I drive in a responsible

614
00:14:37,834 --> 00:14:38,744
way today?

615
00:14:38,744 --> 00:14:41,257
Or how am I going to handle the

616
00:14:41,257 --> 00:14:42,113
gifts that God has given

617
00:14:42,113 --> 00:14:42,992
me in the food?

618
00:14:42,992 --> 00:14:44,273
Am I going to use the food

619
00:14:44,273 --> 00:14:45,673
rightly or abuse it?

620
00:14:45,673 --> 00:14:47,473
All those kinds of questions.

621
00:14:47,473 --> 00:14:48,497
That's where character

622
00:14:48,497 --> 00:14:49,433
comes into play.

623
00:14:49,433 --> 00:14:50,721
That's where you are the kind of

624
00:14:50,721 --> 00:14:52,129
person you're supposed to be.

625
00:14:52,129 --> 00:14:53,882
Someone has said that character

626
00:14:53,882 --> 00:14:55,217
is what shows up when

627
00:14:55,217 --> 00:14:56,353
no one is looking.

628
00:14:56,353 --> 00:14:57,881
And I think that's also on the

629
00:14:57,881 --> 00:14:59,338
right track here. Characters,

630
00:14:59,338 --> 00:14:59,890
what you do is

631
00:14:59,890 --> 00:15:01,162
when you check into the hotel

632
00:15:01,162 --> 00:15:02,634
room for a business trip,

633
00:15:02,634 --> 00:15:03,481
no one's around.

634
00:15:03,481 --> 00:15:04,320
You have all the time to

635
00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:05,608
yourself. No one knows you.

636
00:15:05,608 --> 00:15:06,713
What are you going to do?

637
00:15:06,713 --> 00:15:07,281
How are you going to

638
00:15:07,281 --> 00:15:07,985
use that time?

639
00:15:07,985 --> 00:15:08,777
What kind of things are

640
00:15:08,777 --> 00:15:09,913
going to occupy you?

641
00:15:09,913 --> 00:15:11,209
Character comes into play,

642
00:15:11,209 --> 00:15:13,697
then character is who you are.

643
00:15:13,697 --> 00:15:15,738
Character is how you operate.

644
00:15:15,738 --> 00:15:16,889
And that's what we're interested

645
00:15:16,889 --> 00:15:17,801
in thinking about.

646
00:15:17,801 --> 00:15:18,992
What kind of character does

647
00:15:18,992 --> 00:15:19,992
a Christian have?

648
00:15:19,992 --> 00:15:21,177
And we'll think about that as

649
00:15:21,177 --> 00:15:22,513
we press ahead here in this

650
00:15:22,513 --> 00:15:24,781
discussion because Christians

651
00:15:24,781 --> 00:15:26,193
need to care about this.

652
00:15:26,193 --> 00:15:27,273
Maybe it seems self

653
00:15:27,273 --> 00:15:28,105
evident to you,

654
00:15:28,105 --> 00:15:29,033
but it gets a little

655
00:15:29,033 --> 00:15:29,778
complicated.

656
00:15:29,778 --> 00:15:31,377
But we'll get into that in some

657
00:15:31,377 --> 00:15:32,656
future sessions. For now,

658
00:15:32,656 --> 00:15:33,817
I want you to think about

659
00:15:33,817 --> 00:15:35,130
what is character?

660
00:15:35,130 --> 00:15:36,297
What's it look like?

661
00:15:36,297 --> 00:15:38,386
What makes for good character?

662
00:15:38,386 --> 00:15:39,521
How do you know good character

663
00:15:39,521 --> 00:15:40,209
when you see it?

664
00:15:40,209 --> 00:15:41,728
And what are the characteristics

665
00:15:41,728 --> 00:15:43,165
that we should be working for

666
00:15:43,165 --> 00:15:44,718
cultivating so that character

667
00:15:44,718 --> 00:15:46,733
can grow and blossom and become

668
00:15:46,733 --> 00:15:47,973
all that it's supposed to be?

669
00:15:47,973 --> 00:15:49,348
So we'll think about that more.

670
00:15:49,348 --> 00:15:49,979
For now,

671
00:15:49,979 --> 00:15:51,873
let's zero in on David and think

672
00:15:51,873 --> 00:15:53,896
about his character and the

673
00:15:53,896 --> 00:15:54,992
character that we should have

674
00:15:54,992 --> 00:15:55,580
and how that looks.