Evaluating a Person's Character

Even though my sister works at a magazine company, our household only subscribes to one magazine: PsychologyToday. It's clearly for me, but Eryn likes it too. (I think some days she wishes she were going into Psychology as well.)

While at the doctor's office yesterday, I read an article that made me reevaluate my life. The article, Clues to Character, gives 6 aspects of a person's life you can assess to learn more about that person's character. In case you are also interested, I'll go into detail on each one.

1. Intelligence. Not only is intelligence fairly stable over time, it gives you insight on how a person thinks. Maybe he or she is simple-minded, or evaluates every situation. Some clues to an intelligent person are if he or she makes pro/con lists and explains things clearly. I need some work on this part.
   
2. Drive. Does this person work hard in life? Is this person organized, clean, and plan for the future? If so, he or she probably has drive in his or her life. Drive is pretty easy to see in others, based on what they have done so far and what they plan to do in the future.
   
3. Happiness. Happiness is a big indicator to character. Maybe this person blames things in their life on luck or chance, or maybe on something greater. Many Christians are happy because they have a guide every step of the way. Christians know there is something greater waiting for them when they leave this Earth, so daily unhappy events don't bother us as much.
   
4. Goodness. This one is also pretty self-explanatory. Is this person giving? Does she put others before herself? I had a discussion in a class Freshman year of college based on whether it is easier to bring "good people" or "bad people" to Christ. From my personal experience the "good" non-Christians are harder to share the message with, because they believe they are already good enough to go to Heaven. I grew up with many "good" friends, but none of us were Christians. Fortunately, it worked out pretty well for me, but I can only pray God touched their lives too.
5. Friendship. This one hit me the hardest. The article talks about a person with good character is a person with many friends. I have never been a person with many friends. I have always had those close couple of friends, mainly because I am a shy person in new situations. In other words, I rarely initiate friendships.
   
6. Intimacy. In psychology, intimacy means something different than the world's view of intimacy. In psychology, it is a person's ability to trust and love others. Does this person have lasting relationships, or do they tend to fade away when friendships are tested? Does he or she feel loved? Intimacy is something you cannot determine about another person until you actually get intimate with that person.
   

After reading the article, I felt compelled to evaluate these six areas in myself. Do I really love others? Are my friendships genuine? Do I share my goodness as much as I should?

This article, as in most aspects of psychology, had nothing to do with religion. I just always relate the two, because you cannot truly learn about someone else until you know where his or her heart is spiritually. Even in my psychology classes during the semester, I was shunned twice for being a "Christian" but that just made me want to pursue it more. Why? Because I want to prove to others that God is the reason for every single thing of this world, regardless of how many people reject that idea or reject Him entirely.

Instead of getting ready for work, like I should be doing, I felt like writing. Oops. I should really get back to reality, but most times, writing is so much more enjoyable than real life. Unless it's an essay for a history class. Those are painful to write. Can you tell I am putting off my homework for this week?