Character and Habits

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 23, 1871

Character and Habits

Character—Habits.

Wood’s Household Magazine has the following:

“Character is often confounded with reputation. A man may have a good reputation, and, at the same time, have a very bad character; in other words, people may think that he is a good man, when, in reality, he is a bad man. Character is what a man is; reputation is what men think of him. Character is the condition of one’s mind. It is the summation of his mental habits. The formation of character is the great work of man. In other words the formation of habits is the great work of man. It is the constant work of man.

“Every one is constantly engaged in forming habits, good or bad. The work may be voluntary or involuntary; but it is constantly going on. Since the stream is ever flowing, it is important that we give to it a right direction. . . . . We will mention some habits which it is desirable to form, the means of forming which are within the reach of all.

“We should form the habit of industry. If we do not put forth efforts with reference to that end, the habit of indolence will be formed. To form good habits, requires effort. To form bad habits, ‘a let-alone policy’ will suffice. Every one can, if he will, form a habit of industry. He can find something to do, and he can do it. Comparatively few are naturally industrious. Those who are very diligent in work, and who enjoy it, did not enjoy it at first. They, perhaps, found it irksome. They resolved to do it for the sake of the rewards in prospect. By degrees the habit of industry was formed. Labor became pleasant, became necessary to habit. Except for purposes of necessary rest, they do not like to be unemployed. Thus, by the power of habit, their work becomes pleasant and free from difficulty. This habit of industry is needed in every department of life. No one has a right to be idle. God says, ‘Go work in my vineyard.’

“We should form the habit of speaking accurately—that is, of using the English language correctly. Let no one say, ‘I have not studied grammar;’ which is said to be the art of using language correctly. Let no one say, Grammar is dry and hard. You can learn to speak correctly without opening a treatise on grammar. How do people learn to conduct themselves with propriety? Not by reading books on etiquette, but by observing persons of cultivated manners and following their example. Correctness in the use of language is to be [may be] acquired in like manner. The rules of grammar, if accurate, are simply statements of fact in regard to the usage of the best writers and speakers. If that practice were different, the rules of grammar would be different. . . . Select for your reading standard authors, and observe how they use the English language, and follow their example.

“We should form the habit of speaking the exact truth on all occasions. It is not to be supposed that the readers of this publication have formed, or are forming, the habit of lying. Lying is uttering an untruth with the intention of deceiving. There are many who would scorn to lie, who need to form the habit under consideration. Sometimes, in relating an incident, they use exaggerations in order to be more interesting. In what they regard as unimportant matters, they are careless in their statements. Hence, though no one would think of charging them with lying, their statements are received with some abatements. This is one evil resulting from the want of the habit of speaking the exact truth.”