Character is simply the integration, into one personality, of several fundamental strengths of mind and will that characterise maturity. Character hinges on the acquisition of fundamental habits, traditionally called virtues. Seven principle virtues are: faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. Here is a brief look at them:
Faith: The active belief in God and in all that He has revealed about Himself, His justice and mercy, the meaning of life here on earth and afterwards in eternity.
Hope: The confidence that God will give us the means of salvation, and that His loving Providence watches over us throughout our lives; therefore, no problem is unendurable. (The Christian symbol for hope is the anchor — the link with God that holds us firm against the storms of life.
Charity: An overriding love for God, a love that shapes and directs all other loves, for spouse, children, friends, strangers, material goods. In practical terms, it is the pre-eminent Christian virtue: a compassionate understanding for others that imitates God’s love for us all.
Prudence: Today we call this “sound judgement” — the ability to make the important distinctions in life: right from wrong, truth from falsehood, fact from opinion, reason from emotion, the eternal from the transitory. A well-formed conscience is part of this virtue.
Justice: This we would call “sense of responsibility” — giving others what is due to them. It is the sense of duty implicit in recognising the rights of others, including the rights of God. In one sense, this consciousness of responsibility is the most important mark of moral adulthood — maturity is responsibility.
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Temperance: This is self-control, self-discipline — a rational control over the passions and appetites, a self-imposed restraint for the sake of some higher good. Its opposite (also common today) is self-indulgence, an habitual pursuit of pleasure and comfort as ends in themselves.
When all of these strengths are integrated and internalised in a person’s approach to life, he or she is said to have strong character. All other admirable traits in people – industriousness, piety and consideration for others, for example – derive directly or indirectly from these virtues.
One witty philosopher summed it up another way: “Character is what you have left over if you go broke.” It is the person himself minus his money and material possessions.
Based on: Stenson, James. “Fatherhood (1).” Scepter Booklets, 1993.
