Cultivating Character

One of the major approaches to ethics is character or virtue ethics. In this approach the most important person to work with is the individual. The person's individual and family background, or the intended goal of a moral or ethical action, is not nearly as important as who they are and what their character is like.

Character or virtue ethics is a good reminder to theology in general, as well as ethics, that we live in the present and that is all that there is. It is not that the past does not shape us. We do not establish our character in a vacuum. It takes various individuals to lead us to the person that we are. It is not that the future will not have an important role in the person we are to become. But the most important focus is on the present, and as many have said, the present is all that we have today.

So how one does one go about cultivating good character or positive ethical attributes in the present? One excellent way that Christians do this is to focus on our relationship to God and others. As far as our relationship to God we can ask "what would God have me be or do?" We can do this by reading Scripture or by praying to God for direction for our lives. An example might be when we have to make a difficult decision about something that "pushes all of our buttons," like when we are interacting with our parents or siblings. Perhaps our natural reaction would be an emotional one that is not thoughtful, but when we take the time to center ourselves on what God would have us do, we may react with a more thoughtful and appropriate response. Instead of getting angry and blaming the other person(s) we might be able to speak for ourselves ("I" statements) and be open to understanding the other persons' point of view.

Another excellent way to cultivate character is to get involved in doing things for other people. A good example is Big Brothers or Big Sisters. When we help someone whom we are not obligated to help, it will build character values such as generosity, sacrifice, and helpfulness. In fact, it helps both sides of the situation because the person receives help and we build character.

This is why it is good for anyone who has time, such as a retired person, to get involved in helping other people. By doing so we can develop character or virtue that we can extend into other places in our lives. We can build up qualities that Paul talks about in Galatians 5, such as kindness, patience, and self-control. By taking the time to focus on helping one specific person all will be helped.

There will always be a place for character or virtue ethics in the field of ethics. This is because ultimately when individuals are built up into being better people, the whole society will be a better place.