Our world holds a plethora of people who live and move with all the depth of a rain puddle in the mall parking lot. The shallow crowd flitters on, ambivalent to the stunning truth that looks, possessions, and designer labels are temporary. Depth of character seems not to matter.
Copyright © 2011, Shawn Rae Nichols.
Deep people are rare.
A deep person understands that character formation is a long term endeavor.
Depth is not achieved by accident nor can it be purchased. There is no cosmic microwave to perfect a man’s character in seconds. Depth is forged in the crucible of life with heat, turbulence, and suffering. Not much of a recruitment speech, is it?
A deep person doesn’t seek out difficult circumstances, nor does he avoid them.
Difficulties happen. Quagmires must be navigated. A man of depth does not wither when trouble arrives. Like John Wayne, he faces the circumstance, spits, glares, then draws the six-shooter to dispatch another miscreant soul to the afterlife. Another battle won, move on. Experience and perseverance build strength for the next skirmish.
A deep person finds strength and purpose internally.
Becoming deeper requires reflection and times of solitude. Self-examination and a willingness to hold oneself accountable are crucial. The stubborn sprout pushes against the stagnant soil of peer pressure to grow and blossom. The depth of the roots determines the outcome.
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.
Psalm 1:1-3 (NASB)
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