Nehemiah 7 Character Matters

December 18th, Nehemiah 7

       My personal life doesn't matter. Who I am out of the public eye is nobody's business. There should be separation between church and state. As if, wrong, impossible would be my retort to what has evolved into wisdom, but has always been and will always be impossible.
       I believe and always told the football players I worked with... you can't be a good football player and a bad employee, bad student, lousy boyfriend, and disrespect authority. We can't pick and choose times when we will do something well and do something with half-effort. If we start lacking in one area of our life it begins to show up in other areas of our life. This is the way things go. When I let my private life go, my public life is quick to follow.
       We live in a world that values a skillset over and above character. When I hire someone for a job my criteria in order is this...character, competence, chemistry. I don't really care about skill level if the heart is not right. Character issues are always a problem or will become a big problem. When you have skilled work from a toxic person, the toxin as rarely more valuable than the skill. Besides if someone has character, teaching a skill is easier, simply because people with character are teachable. In the end chemistry is important. If I have to spend 6 hours a day with someone, it's a lot more fun if we genuinely enjoy one another. It's not the first requirement, but a worthwhile question. Why am I talking about all of this...
       Neh 7:2 I gave my brother Hanani and Hananiah in charge of the city of Jerusalem because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do.  People with character don't take bribes, can't be bought, treat others with the respect they are due, call people to account for a lack of integrity. Character has always been at the center of what is right, noble and good.