Tag Archives: integrity

Mean It

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Matthew 5:34-37

Jesus continues to talk about integrity here in His Sermon on the Mount. His message is that if I speak the truth, if I mean what I say, there is no need to back it up with an oath. Words like, “I swear to God,” or “I swear on my mother’s grave,” or “I swear on a stack of Bibles,” are tools used by liars to manipulate people.

Speak the truth out of a pure heart. If someone doubts you, let the truth speak for itself. Let your yes mean yes and your no mean no. Don’t say something. you think someone wants to hear, knowing what you say isn’t true. That makes you a liar.

I think God would much rather we live out the truth than argue for it. It’s not up to us to prove what is true. Speak truth and leave it at that. Now I know sometimes we get sucked into debates and arguments. But we often find ourselves trying to pick out the right words to get our point across. It becomes more about the words than the truth. And the one with the best words wins. God is warning against that.

Let your yes really mean yes and your no really mean no. Make sure what you are saying is really the truth and back it up with your life. Anything more than this is from the evil one. (vs 37).

I Will

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Matthew 5:31-33

People who marry take an oath before God and witnesses. They give their word to be faithful to one person for the rest of their lives. We tend to make these verses in Matthew about marriage and divorce. But the real message Jesus is trying to get across is much wider and deeper than that one issue. He’s been talking about integrity in this Sermon, about character and disposition. He’s been talking about the seriousness of sin and its effect on our spiritual health.

Then he uses the marriage oath as an example. We ought not to read verses 31-32 without verse 33. It’s a shame the Bible publishers put in that arbitrary break. So let’s not, for sake of argument today.

If you make an oath of any kind (which Webster defines as “a solemn promise, often invoking a divine witness, regarding one’s future action or behavior”), you had better honor and protect it. If you don’t, and you break that solemn promise, you are no different than an adulterer. Jesus is painting a word picture, using marriage as an example of someone who doesn’t keep his or her promises.

Sometimes I think we consider an “oath” as a big deal, like a doctor taking an oath to do no harm, or a witness taking an oath to tell the truth in court. But if I know Jesus, He’s not only talking about the “big.” He always gets to the heart of an issue, doesn’t He? That’s what I believe He is doing here.

Have you ever heard someone referred to as a “man of his word?” What does that mean? I think most of us know at least one person who has the kind of integrity that if he says he will do something, you know he will. He always does what he says.

We, as Christ followers, ought to be men and women of our word. Whether it’s a promise to pay our loans on time, or take out the trash, if it’s the promise to our employer to do our job, or a promise to our child to go to the dance recital, if we say we will… we will. Jesus was a man of HIs word, and if He is our example, we ought to be, too.

I believe Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, is laying out the truth for believers. We are held to a higher standard. Our faith is evidenced by the kind of life we lead. More than anyone, a Christian ought to be the person who has integrity, honesty, the person who will follow through with what is promised.

If you say, “I will,” will you?

Character

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Proverbs 8-13

Wisdom. Integrity. Honesty. Discipline. Trust. A good work ethic. Good sense. Truth.

All these, and more, are mentioned in Solomon’s proverbs and ought to be present in every believer.

Yesterday in Sunday School, we talked about the fact that Paul used himself as an example of how to live this Christian life. “Imitate me,” he said in 2 Thessalonians 3. Paul had nothing to hide, and confidently put himself in a fishbowl.

Could I do that? Could you? Or are we trying to hide a tiny sin that would expose us as hypocrites?

The book of Proverbs reminds me that my character is as important as my testimony. Maybe more so as I represent my Savior to a world that needs Him.

Follow My Example?

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I Chronicles 29

King David gave generously from his own treasures toward the building of the Temple in Jerusalem. Then he went to the people and challenged them to follow his example.

That spoke to me today. God has give me so much, blessed me way beyond what I deserve. Not financially, necessarily. Although I have enough to be comfortable. But I certainly don’t have the equivalent of tons of gold and silver to throw around.

Yet God is reminding me how truly rich I am.

I have my health, a working brain. I have hands and feet and a voice. I have Jesus! I have the forgiveness of my sin, and the gifts of having the Spirit of God in me: love, joy, peace…

I have God’s own words at my fingertips!

The questions then, are these: Am I using these things generously toward the building of God’s Church? Am I investing in people, introducing unsaved people to their Savior?

And, would I ever in a million years suggest you follow my example?

I’m wondering if I’d want you to put in the same amount of time I put into serving God; if I’d want you to use your talents in the same way I use mine for the glory of God. I wonder if I exercise my faith in a way I’d want you to exercise yours, or am I serving half-heartedly, giving only what I think I can afford, hoping you’ll not notice?

David said, “follow my example.” Can I say that to you?

If not, why not?

David’s prayer in verses 10-19 reminds me that everything I have belongs to God. It all came from God in the first place. I own nothing. I am nothing. But I am a steward of everything He’s given me.

May God, when He examines my heart rejoice when He finds integrity, when He finds me giving away with both hands what He’s given me, so that someone will come to His saving grace.

I pray the same for you.

(2 Kings 12) Integrity

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Now here’s something you don’t see every day. Any day, really.

Let me set the scene:

Scripture tells us there were repairs going on in the temple. The contractors and workers were paid with silver that came into the temple by way of the offerings from worshipers. The high priest and his secretary weighed, then bagged the offering silver.

“Then they would give the weighed silver to those doing the work – those who oversaw the Lord’s temple. They in turn would pay it out to those working on the Lord’s temple – the carpenters, the builders, the masons, and the stonecutters – and would use it to buy timber and quarried stone to repair the damage to the Lord’s temple and for all expenses for temple repairs.” (12:11-13)

It sounds like it would have been an accounting nightmare, especially without spreadsheets and Microsoft Office on their computers.

But listen to this. This is what struck me today:

“No accounting was required from the men who received the silver to pay those doing the work, since they worked with integrity.” (vs 15, emphasis mine)

Have you ever had any remodeling done in your home? How did it go? You hire a contractor who hires workers to do the actual remodel, plumbers, painters, carpenters, tile workers. Or maybe the contractor actually does the work himself. Were you happy with the finished project? Was the job completed on time and within budget? Was the work done to your satisfaction? I bet some of you have horror stories.

Like my sister who, after she and her husband shelled out almost $30,000.00 for a remodeled bath and laundry room, continue to discover problems:

a toilet set too close to the wall

faulty (and dangerous) wiring

shower floor not caulked

closets without doors because they were mis-measured

a sump pump clogged with mortar dust because the worker emptied his bucket in the sump pump with water containing the dust from sanding the new drywall

Oh, there’s more. But you get the idea. My poor brother-in-law is outside digging a hole in their front yard, hoping to replace or reroute the pipe from the clogged sump pump before it rains today and ruins their new carpeting.

Integrity? I’m not seeing it here exactly. But here’s my point:

are any of us doing our jobs with integrity?

I play the organ at church. If I tell myself that if I hit a wrong note here and there no one will notice, am I playing with integrity?

If I teach a Sunday School and think, they’re just children so if I am not as prepared this week it’s no big deal, am I teaching with integrity?

Are you parenting with integrity? Are you working at your marriage with integrity? Representing Jesus with integrity? Driving your car, paying your taxes, being a neighbor, caring for your parents, serving on a committee at church, whatever… Are you working with integrity?

Do you need someone standing over you to make sure you are doing the job well and honestly? Or can they throw away the spreadsheets, like they did here in 2 Kings, because you do your work with integrity?

May each of us, no matter how big or small the task God gives us to do, be men and women with integrity. Then may we do the job as unto the Lord.

Integrity might be something we don’t see every day. But it should definitely be seen in you and me who know Jesus as our Savior.

Every day.

March 10; The Seriousness of Vows

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Numbers 30-31

When  my first niece was born in the early ’80’s I held that tiny, beautiful baby and made a vow. I said, with her parents and grandparents in the room, “If your first words are ‘Aunt Connie,’ I’ll buy you a car.”

Everyone laughed, and like most babies, she said “Mommy” and “Daddy” long before she said my name. I made the same vow 18 months later when her little brother was born, and for the next ten years whenever one of my sisters had a baby I’d make the same vow. “Say ‘Aunt Connie’ first. I’ll buy you a car.”

I knew I was pretty safe, that I’d never really have to buy a car. Until my oldest niece was 15, and my sister had her fourth child. I, of course, made my silly vow, but this time in front of three teenage siblings who immediately began coaxing their baby brother to say, “Aunt Connie.” I will admit, I was a bit worried. But thankfully, “Mommy” won out.

I was off the hook. That is, until my nieces and nephews began having their own children. You’d think I’d learn. Not so much! Just last year one of my nieces had a baby boy, and Great-Aunt Connie made her silly vow. This time his teenage step-brothers began coaxing him to say my name. (I’m pretty sure I distinctly heard him say, “Dada” last time I was home.)

I share all that as I think about the Scripture I read today. It addresses the seriousness of our vows to God.

“This is what the Lord commands; When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.” (30:1-2)

Now Moses goes on and gives instructions how a vow might be annulled. But those circumstances are few and far between. The seriousness of vow-making is not lost on me.

I want to be a woman of my word. That means I need to speak thoughtfully, not making rash promises. Like when I promise to pray for someone, then immediately forget that I promised to pray. Like when I promise to call a friend, and then not pick up the phone. I know these are not the same kinds of promises we read about here in Numbers. But if I represent God, and I do, I want my word to mean something for His sake.

And when I promise God to turn from a sin, to change behavior that doesn’t please Him, to obey Him with all my heart, I want Him to know I mean it. The cool thing about God is, when I do make those vows, He Himself gives me the ability to follow through. I love that about Him!

I take my relationship with God seriously. I want to please Him in all ways, including the vows I make.

 

March 18 – Integrity

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Deuteronomy 21-23

Reading these chapters in Deuteronomy today had me thinking about integrity. God’s laws for His people seem to sit under that umbrella.

I asked Siri for a definition of the word “integrity” and she gave me this: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles, moral rightness.

God spelled out His moral principles in the pages of Scripture. Rather than skimming over the parts that have to do with finding my neighbors cow wandering around because my neighbors don’t even own a cow, I asked myself what is the moral principle God wants me to know?

I’m not building a house so worrying about a parapet doesn’t apply to me, right? I don’t have a vineyard or standing grain, so can I just skip over those laws? Or are there  moral principles in these examples that do apply to me?

I hope you’ll read these chapters today and ask God to speak to you about your own integrity. Are you living according to God’s moral principles?

He’ll let you know if you ask Him.