The ultimate test of your character qualities is the quality of your kids’ character.

Uncle Louie was one tough hombre. The Viet Cong army had a bounty on the man they called “lớn màu đỏ” (or “Big Red”) because Louie was such a savage soldier. As a kid, a tractor ran over Louie’s stomach, but he walked away. An attacker sliced open Louie’s stomach, but he lived. And when he accidently sliced open his hand and blood spewed everywhere, Louie looked nonchalantly at me and said, “Ah, I’m fine.” I always admired Uncle Louie. As tough as he was, though, Louie’s life proved something even more amazing.

The son of a godly welder and grandson of a preacher, Louie didn’t quite fit in. Although his siblings tended to toe the line, Louie was prone to trouble. When his younger brother got the same high school teachers as had Louie, those teachers would skeptically ask, “Are you like your sisters, or are you like Louie?” Below Louie’s crusty exterior, however, was a heart of gold, a servant who would give anything for others, and a ferocious warrior filled with love . . . all mainly because of one reason: he was Loyd’s son.

Grandpa Loyd was proof of the ultimate test of a parent’s character qualities. Like every family, Loyd’s kids didn’t always make ideal choices. But his kids are evidence of how quality results grow out of quality methods, which are born from quality mindsets, which are conceived through quality character. And I couldn’t be prouder that my middle name is Loyd, because my Grandpa spawned multiple generations of faithfulness through a character quality that guided his life: quality – the excellence of character.

Quality:  The excellence of character

Peanut butter and jelly. Mac ‘n cheese. Salt and pepper. Batman and Robin. Mickey and Minnie. Tarzan and Jane. Fish and chips. Some things just go together. You can’t imagine one without the other. That’s how it is with quality and excellence.

Quality and excellence are intertwined and inseparable. Wherever quality goes, excellence follows. The problem is when you expect one without earning the other. That’s why where poor quality goes, mediocrity always follows.

Quality and excellence flow, though, from something else – superior standards. If you want excellent quality at home or work, set a clear standard of what it looks like. Learn to know it when you see it. And hold to those standards so that you and quality become like peanut butter and jelly – people can’t think of one without the other.

As a 22-year-old hot shot, I was known at work for speed. But speed isn’t the same as quality. Thankfully a boss pulled me aside and said, “Tim, people will forget your speed, but they’ll never forget your quality.” I had to learn that quality isn’t a job; it’s how you do your job. It’s not a goal; it’s a mindset. A mandate. Paul put it this way: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (Phil. 4:8).

Quality homes

Although quality standards, quality control, and quality service are common in business, they’re uncommon at home. The same controls, standards, and service that flow from your work, though, will certainly flow into your kids. Therefore, I chose Quality as my “Q” character quality, because I want quality to infuse every aspect of my kids’ lives. I can’t make them choose it, but I can model it, teach it, and make it easy for them to want it for themselves.

Quality is about your heart as much as it is about your habits. The seeds of caring, constant character need caring, constant quality in order to take root in the next generation. Don’t demean the quality of your kids’ attitudes and then wonder why your kids are disinterested. Find whatever quality is already in them and celebrate it.

Quality kids come from quality parents, not cookie cutter parents. Grandpa Loyd’s kids were proof of that too. All of them were different. All had victories. All failed. But all had a common thread of caring, constant character. And all of them found a way to turn failure into quality character. My many cousins are proof of how a parents’ and grandparents’ character can live on . . . even if they’re the toughest hombre around.

What’s your “Q” character quality?

What’s your “Q” character quality? Qualified, Quality, Quest, Questioning, Quick-witted, Quiet, Quips, Quirky, Quizzical, Quotable, or something else? Click here for a Free Printable Workbook to choose your 26 A-to-Z Secret Sauce ingredients, along with 300 A-to-Z examples.

Questions: What standards of quality have your kids learn to expect from you? What “Q” word could you pursue to best help your family, and why?