Character.

From JPCC BREAKING Monthly News October 2009.

Ada peribahasa Indonesia yang berbunyi seperti ini, "Tong kosong nyaring bunyinya".

Orang yang tidak mempunyai karakter, diibaratkan seperti tong kosong. Dari luar mungkin terlihat megah dan keren, akan tetapi setelah kita mengenal lebih dekat, kita baru sadar akan kebenarannya.

Di jaman yang sangat canggih ini, banyak dari kita terlalu fokus dengan apa yang terlihat dari luar saja, handphone keren, baju keren, penampilan yang keren, mempunyai extra kulikuler yang keren, pokoknya semuanya harus serba keren. I wanna be seen COOL!

There is nothing wrong with it. I think it is great! But it would definitely better if you also focus on what's inside you. Have a character.

Imagine if you are going to a friend's house. From the outside, it looks so grand, beautiful, so many attention to details, a large swimming pool. And you cannot keep on saying, 'WOW'. Everywhere you look, it is always a 'WOW'. But the moment you step into his house, everything turns upside down. It is so messy, the floor is dusty, you can see spider webs all over the places, and the place is dark. Your 'wow' has become 'eww'.

That is exactly the same with our lives. Terkadang, kita selalu fokus dengan apa yang bisa dilihat orang. Dan akhirnya mereka pun mau berteman dengan kita. Tetapi setelah beberapa waktu kemudian, kita bertanya, mengapa perlahan-lahan, satu persatu, mereka mulai meninggalkan kita?

Abraham Lincoln once said, "Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."

The best way to learn or to have a character is to look on God. As you get closer to Him, slowly you will have His character. It's not easy, because sometimes His character clashes with what your friends have.

Contoh: kadang kala, kita ingin berbuat sesuatu yang baik, tetapi yang baik belum tentu benar. Atau, sewaktu ada yang menyakiti kita, hati kecil ingin membalas dendam, sedangkan Firman Tuhan mengajar untuk memaafkan. Juga, sewaktu orang tua menghukum kita dengan alasan yang mungkin cukup konyol, sering kali kita ingin memberontak, again, Firman Tuhan mengajar untuk menghormati mereka setiap saat.

Hal-hal ini mungkin terlihat kecil. Tetapi jika kita melakukannya setiap saat, kita akan menuai karakter. We will be wiser, forgiving, and more obedience. Ini hanyalah beberapa contoh, dan masih banyak lagi yang kita bisa belajar sewaktu kita dekat dengan Tuhan.

As a teenager, get close to God, as His character will stick with you. John 3:30 says that "More of You and less of me". John the Baptist knows that we are not perfect and only God is. As we have Him in our everyday life, out life will change inside out. One day, people will come to you, not because what you look cool, but what is inside you.

Love you all,

Joe Sentoso

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