"Character
cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial
and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and
success achieved." — Helen Keller My hometown team, the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl in convincing fashion on Sunday. FLY EAGLES FLY! It was a glorious victory that put all the elements of their precisely crafted team on display. This Friday, "The City of Brotherly Love" will celebrate the win with a parade on Valentine's Day. I can't help but note that Jalen Hurts, the team's quarterback, was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP). In the weeks prior to the big game, commentators and prognosticators criticized Hurts. They said he could not throw the ball well enough to win. They said he was a good player, but not elite. They believed it was inevitable that Hurts and the Eagles, though the better all-around team, would lose to their rivals the Kansas City Chiefs. I watched Hurts calmly engage his detractors at press conferences and then confidently enter and exit the arena a victor on game day.
Did you know there has never been a Super Bowl winning quarterback who came from a fatherless household? Jalen Hurts was coached as a child by his father, perhaps that's where his discipline and cool demeanor comes from. I first saw him as a starting quarterback in the College Football Championship representing the Alabama Crimson Tide. Hurts was a Junior who had led his team to their 2nd consecutive championship game, but was benched at half-time and replaced by second string Freshman, Tua Tagovailoa. Tua led the Tide to a comeback victory and is now the Miami Dolphins' quarterback. Even in that humbling moment, Jalen Hurts demonstrated an uncanny grace, kindness, and team spirit. He celebrated Tua and did not knock his coaches for the decision. He watched as Tua received the accolades and attention for a team he had carried for two years. Jalen Hurts has been a class act in the midst of it all. He once said, "I keep God at the center of everything. I give Him all the praise, I lean on Him all the time. And I know that everything unfolds the way it’s supposed to." They say reputation is who others think you are, but CHARACTER is who you really are.
CHARACTER is defined as the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. The Greek kharakter is 'a stamping tool,' a 'distinctive mark,' a token, feature, or trait.’ One definition of character is moral excellence and firmness. I wish we valued that more these days. Jalen Hurts had his father to emulate. We have our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:
1Imitate God, since you are the children he loves. 2Live in love as Christ also loved us. He gave his life for us as an offering and sacrifice, a soothing aroma to God. 3Don't let sexual sin, perversion of any kind, or greed even be mentioned among you. This is not appropriate behavior for God's holy people. 4It's not right that dirty stories, foolish talk, or obscene jokes should be mentioned among you either. Instead, give thanks [to God]. 5You know very well that no person who is involved in sexual sin, perversion, or greed (which means worshiping wealth) can have any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
6Don't let anyone deceive you with meaningless words. It is because of sins like these that God's anger comes to those who refuse to obey him. 7Don't be partners with them. 8Once you lived in the dark, but now the Lord has filled you with light. Live as children who have light. 9Light produces everything that is good, that has God's approval, and that is true. 10Determine which things please the Lord. 11Have nothing to do with the useless works that darkness produces. Instead, expose them for what they are. 12It is shameful to talk about what some people do in secret. 13Light exposes the true character of everything 14because light makes everything easy to see. That's why it says: "Wake up, sleeper! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."15So then, be very careful how you live. Don't live like foolish people but like wise people. 16Make the most of your opportunities because these are evil days. 17So don't be foolish, but understand what the Lord wants. (GWT)
God allowed Jalen Hurts' character to be built through trials. What are the troubles you're facing right now building in you? The life of a person of character is the same in the darkness as it is in the light. | 
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