Character Development is good Character Development

When someone is creating a new story or a new character, they often toss around the phrase character development.

It's funny that most of the time when someone says "character development" what they often mean is "struggle", when it's time to develop your character that could mean it's time to give your character some barriers, some hurdles, some things they hate doing.

There's this fascinating formula used by people who write and tell stories that helps them develop their characters and tell their stories in a more attention grabbing and aesthetic way.

It goes like this.

You take this character, and describe him/her to the audience and show them the characters tendencies, personality traits, and general opinions on life.  Then you show the audience that there's one thing this character absolutely does not want to do.  Finally, you bend the story arc so that character has no choice but to do the one thing they never wanted to do.

If it seems overly simple take a moment and see if this formula applies to any of your favorite movies.

The one thing Frodo does not want to do is go to Mordor.

The one thing Marlin doesn't want to do is travel across the vast and frightening ocean.

William Wallace is a man of peace, and does not want to fight.

Isla does not want to get on the plane and leave Rick.

Captain Miller does not want to cross all of France looking for just one soldier.

In all of these films not only do these things happen, they are in fact the story its self.  We're all curious to see, what happens to these characters when they confront the things they never wanted to confront?

This formula is everywhere, in all forms of story telling, and the Bible is no exception.

Noah, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Peter, Paul, all of them end up doing essentially the last thing they'd ever want to do.

Jesus.

And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Jesus realized he wasn't keen to go through the suffering he was about to go through. However he also realized that God's will was in fact more important than his opinion.

The same sentiment is true of all the previously stated characters, they each realized their opinion was trumped by "what needed to be done". So in the end their choice was easy.

This is the last thing I'd ever want to do, but it's what needs to happen.

The courage shown in these situations is not the absence of fear, it's moving forward in spite of it.

It seems then likely, that your own personal and/or spiritual development will involve moments that are not comfortable or easy. They may even be moments that involve something that you would say is the last thing you'd ever want to do.

Back to the movie examples listed above.

Examine each of these characters at the end of their story, as we see them come through the struggle and out onto the other side. Each of them is transformed and many critics would say these characters become more perfect versions of themselves (yes, even the characters in the above list who die).

Here's the lesson. In order to gain new wisdom, new understanding, or simply become a "better person" the old wisdom, the old understanding, and the old person must cease to be, and often times the only way to bring that transformation is through pain, struggle, and things we don't want to do. However, coming out on the other side, you'll realize.

Your character development was good character development.