Character Strengths and Weaknesses

God’s Word calls us as Christians to encourage and build up each other (1 Thes. 5:11), to think upon the things that are worthy of praise (Phil. 4:8). Because of our sinfulness, the positive qualities which God has given are often misused and twisted until they appear as negative traits. However, by discerning the God-given positive quality that lies beneath the negative trait, we can still think upon the things that are worthy of praise and encourage others.

Positive Qualities 1. alertness 2. amiable, friendly 3. analytic 4. aspiration 5. compassionate, loving 6. confidence in yourself 8. co-operative 9. courage, boldness 9. courteous 10. creative 11. cares enough to confront others of their wrongs 12. decisive 13. diligent 14. discerning 15. disciplined 16. discretionate 17. dedicated 18. earnest, sincere 19. efficient, organized 20. enthusiastic 21. expressive 22. encourager 23. fair-minded, just 24. flexible 25. forgiving 26. frank 27. frugal, thrifty 28. generous 29. grateful, appreciative 30. goal-oriented (has objectives for life) 31. gentle 32. honest, truthful 33. hospitable 34. humble 35. initiative 36. faithful, responsible 37. faith, trusting 38. joyful 39. kind 40. knowledgeable 41. loyal 42. leader 43. love of God’s Word 44. lover of prayer 45. meek 46. neat, clean 47. not self-willed 48. objective 49. patient 50. persistent, determined, persevering 51. persuasive

Positive Qualities Misused (negative traits) 1. nosy, jumpy 2. spineless, namby-pamby, without conviction 3. over-attention to detail, picky, petty, crabby 4. over-ambitious, competitive spirit, scheming 5. sentimental, undue empathy, gushy 6. conceit, overconfidence, lordly, overbearing, 7. conniving, conspiring, compromising 8. reckless, brash, brazen, incautious 9. smooth-spoken, superficial, flatterer 10. day-dreaming, cunning, mischievous, crafty 11. critical, judgmental, proud 12. inflexible, ruthless, domineering 13. slavish, servile, one-track-mind, too detailed 14. judgmental, critical, fault-finding, snoopy 15. rigid, harsh, overbearing, tyrannical 16. overly cautious, secretive, timid 17. unbending, inflexible 18. scrupulous, meticulous, overly serious 19. overly organized, fussy, rigid, impatient 20. fanatical, radical, overbearing, overwrought 21. talkative, flowery, glib, wordy 22. not truthful, exaggerating, superficial 23. indecisive, indiscriminate, undiscerning 24. wishy-washy, indecisive, spineless 25. lenient, condoning, irresponsible, weak 26. tactless, insensitive, undiplomatic, insulting 27. stingy, miserly, tightwad, penny-pinching 28. squanderer, spend-thrift, lavish, wasteful, splurge 29. flattering, fawning, gushy 30. insensitive, inflexible 31. afraid to correct, reprove, or rebuke 32. outspoken, blunt, brutal, too revealing 33. social climber, cliquish, ingratiating 34. self-abasing, reticent, inferiority 35. over-extended 36. senseless, petty 37. poor sense of judgment, naive, foolish 38. giddy, hyper-emotional 39. unloving, not truthful 40. pride, irrelevancy 41. possessive, worshipful, unduly attached 42. authoritarian, dictator 43. spiritual pride 44. spiritual pride 45. spine-less, wishy-washy 46. perfectionist, too meticulous, over-particular 47. careless, sloppy 48. insensitive, too broadminded, unloving, no conviction 49. indifferent, permissive, nonchalant, “door-mat” 50. stubborn, headstrong, inflexible, self-willed 51. high-pressured, propagandistic, pushy

52. punctual 53. purposeful 54. purity of life 55. positive self- image 56. peaceful 57. resolute, unwavering 58. resourceful 59. reconciler 60. respected 61. sensitive 62. steadfast, not a quitter, enduring 63. self-less, servant-attitude 64. sensible, sober-minded, prudent 65. teachable 66. understanding 67. uncontentious, not argumentative 68. visionary, optimistic 69. wise 70. spiritually-minded, eternal-values 71. genuine 72. discreet humor 73. quick, responsive 74. playful, hang-loose

52. impatient with those not punctual 53. single-minded, inflexible, intense 54. spiritual pride 55. pride, superiority complex 56. apathy, indifferent 57. hard-headed, close-minded, stubborn 58. scheming, calculating, overly independent, manipulative 59. busy-body, nosy 60. worshipped 61. touchy, easily offended, thin-skinned 62. stubborn, foolish, hard-headed 63. martyr, pride 64. too serious, somber 65. wishy-washy, vacillating 66. undue empathy 67. indifferent, apathetic, compromise, people-pleaser 68. unrealistic, insensible 69. proud 70. spiritual pride 71. too revealing 72. inappropriate humor, giddy laugh 73. impulsive 74. immature, childish