TLC Assignment 2/22-28/2012 “Character/Comfort, New Character/Old Character”

Every day, in dozens of small moments, you face a choice between two versions of yourself. One version chooses what is comfortable — familiar, low-effort, and quietly self-centered. The other version chooses what builds character — humble, intentional, often slightly uncomfortable, and always aligned with something greater. Both versions are always available. Neither one disappears. The only question is which one you act from, right now.

The Good News and the Bad News

Here is the good news: you never lose the New Character and the principles you have built through a God-centered life. Once those habits are formed — once those spiritual muscles are developed — they remain available to you. It is an act of your will to see the good, to be excited about life, to exert yourself toward the good life, and to stay in it.

Here is the bad news: you also never lose the Old Character and the lack of principles built through a self-centered life. The old patterns, the old comfort-seeking, the old familiar darkness — they remain available too. It is equally an act of your will to look for darkness, to create it, to take over the familiar and comfortable old ways. Do not take over the old darkness. Choose humility. Choose to build the new character.

Choosing Character Over Comfort

True humility is a desire to seek and do God’s will. A truly humble person knows that nothing is out of reach. Character building with humility looks like this: getting up in the morning and the first thought is “Good morning, God.” When someone asks “How are you?”, connecting to God and the good life before answering and responding from that place. These are not grand gestures — they are small, daily choices that compound into a character you can be proud of.

Take an action today to build character and feel humility, rather than feel comfort. The two often diverge. Comfort wants to stay in bed a little longer, to avoid the difficult conversation, to choose ease over excellence. Character wants to move toward the hard thing, to act with integrity when no one is watching, to be kind even when it takes effort.

The Thought-Life Connection: Thoughts Behind Feelings

Know the difference between thoughts and feelings. Find the feeling — and then find the preceding thought. Thoughts produce feelings. Every distorted feeling in your emotional life can be traced back to a thought that generated it. When you are in the dark, when you are feeling “warped” in a way you cannot explain, ask God to show you the thought behind the feeling. We cannot get out of the dark until we become aware of both the thought and the feeling — and then bring them to God and apply spiritual principles.

This is the Thought-Life Connection in its most practical form: being a detective of your own inner life, tracing every emotional state back to its origin in thought. Once you see the thought, you can offer it to God. Once you offer it, it can be rearranged. Once it is rearranged, the feeling changes. And once the feeling changes, the action that flows from it changes too.

Humility in Action: Service Without Recognition

One of the most direct ways to build the New Character is to practice humility in action: do the right thing because it is the right thing to do. Go through the day and do whatever is asked of you. Be of service all day without telling anybody what you are doing. Go out of your way to help others when the moment arises. Give up the parking space. Slow down for cars merging. Hold the door open for the person behind you. Be kind — even if it takes effort.

This is the kind of humility we are to learn and practice. Not the humility that announces itself, but the kind that simply acts. The kind that finds the good in every moment and responds from that place — quietly, consistently, without needing credit for it. That is the New Character being built, one small choice at a time.