Are You Principle Driven or Character Driven?

Do you act primarily based on your principled beliefs/convictions OR is your behavior primarily an expression of your character?

In Jesus day, the Pharisees were keen on keeping the “rules”, that is holding to their understanding of both the teachings/commandments of scripture but also their traditions. When Jesus was answering the question of “who is my neighbor”, He told the story of the good Samaritan as recorded by Luke in chapter 10 of his gospel. The Samaritans were looked on with contempt by the Pharisees and other strict Jews as half-breeds, with a corrupted worship and theology. As Jesus carefully narrates the story, He describes two “principle” driven men, a Pharisee and a Levite, who come upon the robber-beaten man, and “pass by on the other side of the road” [vs 31-32]. Shortly, a Samaritan comes upon the wounded man, but stopped because “when he saw him he felt compassion for him”. He then took action to bind up his wounds and transport him to an inn for further care. It appears the Samaritan acted out of his character-i.e. he was a compassionate person, and any principle-based bias or animosity toward the Jews did not control or hinder his acting in a compassionate way toward the wounded man. It could be argued that the Pharisee and Levite were controlled by erroneous and biased principles and I would agree, but it appears to me more likely that the point of the story is the differences in the character or heart of the “passer-by” versus that of the compassionate Samaritan, i.e. the Samaritan ‘loved his neighbor’ and expressed that love via action.

When faced with a challenging circumstance, a principle-driven Christian might ask: “what would Jesus do?” There is nothing wrong per se with this question of course, but I suggest that if our character was more like that of Jesus, we would be able to act out of our character, and if our character was like our Master’s, then our actions should conform to His actions. Then what role do principles or convictions play in our lives? Principles are rules, or guidelines, values, truths or beliefs upon which other truths or values are built. We learn these principles from our parents, teachers, coaches, peers, etc. and some are based upon biblical values while others are based on cultural or personal values and even our biases. We may hold or embrace these principles not because they are our personal convictions but because we want to be accepted by our peers, parents, or other authority figures involved in our lives. Over time, such beliefs or principles may morph into personal convictions, i.e. personal beliefs firmly held and not merely principles taught us or imposed on us by others. A conviction will be more resistant to change or abandonment than will be a mere casual belief about something.

In Ephesians 4:13-15 Paul declares that spiritual gifts were given to the church to help believers grow in the experiential knowledge of Christ until we become like Him-“to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ“. I suggest that Paul is seeking to move us from being primarily principle-only driven followers of Jesus, to that of becoming character driven i.e. the “fullness of Christ”. Thus, it appears to me that my spiritual journey as a follower of Christ is to move from being primarily a principle driven to a conviction driven and ultimately to a character driven person who emulates Christ not just because of my principles or convictions but because of my character-it being more and more “filled up to the fullness of God” [Ephesians 3:19]. Becoming more like Christ in my character will likely involve abandoning some erroneous principles or even convictions that are contrary to the heart of Christ.

For too long I have operated my life based primarily upon my understanding of biblical principles, many of which have become firmly held, i.e. convictions, but the shaping of my character, i.e. becoming somewhat of a ‘clone’ of Christ has been slower going.

Would you say you are primarily principle driven, conviction driven, or character driven? or ‘all of the above’? Are you seeking to move in the direction of becoming character driven, and specifically the character/heart of Christ Himself?