How can I become the person I want to be? How can I move from being the kind of person I am to the kind of person I ought to be?
There are a variety of strategies that are useful for developing character, for cultivating virtues such as patience, humility, courage, and self-control. I’ll be sharing several of these in future editions of this newsletter. One common strategy for developing character is to imitate a role model. It might be a parent, grandparent, friend, pastor, or coach. For followers of Christ, the ultimate role model is Jesus.
The idea that we should follow Jesus as our role model, if we are his followers, was behind the WWJD movement back in the 1990s. WWJD bracelets were everywhere. This is one way of relying on Jesus as our role model, as we seek to develop good character. We ask what would he do, if he were in my place, my circumstances? Good questions. But as we’ll see, on its own, this approach is flawed. It leaves out a crucial aspect of how role models can be helpful for our own character growth.
To see the problem, we need to understand what a moral virtue is. A moral virtue is a state of character, a moral character trait, that disposes us to think, feel, and act in particular ways. If I’m patient, I’m disposed to be able to wait without complaining, without inner turmoil and frustration. I don’t need to get what I want when I want it. I’m able to have my desires and plans delayed. This is a stable feature of who I am, if I really have this virtue.
Now imagine you are in a situation that tries your patience. You ask yourself, “What would Jesus do?” You know the answer is that he’d be patient in these circumstances, but you still react impatiently or in anger. Why? Just asking the question is not enough. We might want to imitate Jesus, or another role model, but if we have not developed the actual virtue in question, patience in this case, merely asking WWJD or trying to imitate our role model by our own willpower won’t be enough. That would be like trying to imitate Serena Williams serve on a tennis court or Patrick Mahomes passing ability on the football field without doing anything to develop the abilities they’ve worked so hard to possess.
How does this relate to character growth?
The key issue is this: we don’t practice the virtuous actions of our role model in order to develop the good character that they possess. That won’t work. Instead, “we practice the lifestyle that made the exemplar the kind of person he or she is, in order to develop the same kind of virtuous character that the exemplar possesses.”1 We cannot expect to be like Jesus if we haven’t engaged in the spiritual practices that formed his thoughts, beliefs, desires, and feelings. It’s because of his overall lifestyle that he could be not only patient, but also courageous, compassionate, and loving.
We know from reading the gospel accounts of his life that Jesus spent time in solitude. He was committed to prayer. He studied and meditated on the Scriptures. He fasted. These and other spiritual practices shaped his thoughts, desires, feelings, and beliefs, so that when the time of testing came, he had the virtue needed in whatever circumstances came his way.
If Jesus needed to engage in these practices to cultivate union with his Father and help form his character, then those of us who seek to follow him surely need to do the same. We obviously won’t reach the same level, given that we are mere humans. But we can make significant progress over the course of our lives. That’s something worth dedicating our time and energy to, for our own good, the good of others, and as a way to be deeply faithful to the God who loves us.
Steve Porter, “Contentment,” in Being Good, eds. Michael W. Austin and R. Douglas Geivett (Eerdmans, 2012), pp. 138-139.
Photo by Decio Berti Jr on Unsplash