GUARD YOUR INTEGRITY!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY JULY 31, 2023.

SUBJECT : GUARD YOUR INTEGRITY!

Memory verse: “The just man walks in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.” (Proverbs 20 vs 7.) 

READ: Matthew 5 vs 33 - 37:

5:33: Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shalt not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’

5:34: But I say to you, do not swear at all, neither by heaven; for it is God's throne;

5:35: nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

5:36: Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black.

5:37: But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.’

INTIMATION:

Integrity denotes honesty, uprightness, morality, and wholeness. Therefore, a man or woman of integrity is known for honesty, uprightness, morality, and wholeness. 

Integrity is more valuable than wealth, but most people don’t act as if they believe this. In a bid to get what they want they compromise their integrity in order to achieve their aim. They will pay any price to get what they want thereby falling into various temptations, and indulging in many forms of compromises— ritual and devilish sacrifices to acquire wealth, lying, cheating on people, and employers, invading taxes, stealing, withholding tithes, refusing to give, and so on.

Many compromise their honesty to achieve their objectives. Dishonesty is a difficult sin to avoid. It is easy to cheat if we think no one else is looking. But dishonesty affects the very cure of a person. It makes him or her untrustworthy and untrusting. It eventually makes him or her unable to know himself or herself or relate with others. Don’t take dishonesty lightly. Even the smallest portion of dishonesty contains enough of the poison of deceit to kill your spiritual life. If there is any form of dishonesty in your life tell God about it now.

Christians should live with such a character of life that whatever they say should be understood as truth. They should be good for their words. If a Christian makes a promise, it should be assumed that he will keep that promise. A person with a reputation for exaggeration or lying often can’t get anyone to believe him or his word alone. Always be honest so that others will believe your simple yes or no. 

By avoiding lies, half truths, and omissions of the truth, you will become known as a trustworthy person. Truthfulness seems so rare that we feel we must end our statements with “I promise.” If we tell the truth all the time, we will have less pressure to back up our words with an oath. Making casual oath is common to many in normal conversation in order to establish integrity or credibility. Integrity and credibility of the Christian should be based on the behavior of one’s life, not on casual statements continually made in conversation. The statement of Christians should be considered true and correct without the necessity of making oaths in order to reinforce what they say. 

Our integrity is often put on the line in money matters. God calls us to be honest even in small details we could easily ignore. But if we are not trustworthy with our money here (no matter how much or little we have), we will be unfit to handle the vast riches of God’s kingdom. Heaven’s riches are far more valuable than earthly wealth. 

See that you maintain your integrity in all matters, whether big or small. Never try to get away with anything. Be a man or woman of integrity whether you have or not. We should guard our integrity. A reputation for honesty is worth far more than the money we might gain by compromising it.

Parents who behave themselves with integrity will leave an example for their children to do likewise. One of the best things parents can leave for their children is a heritage of integrity. Your life circumstances, whether rich or poor, should never cause you to compromise your integrity. 

When we know and love God, we realize that a lower standard of living—or even poverty—is a small price to pay for personal integrity. Do your actions show that you sacrifice your integrity to get what you want? What changes do you have to make in order to get your priorities straight? 

Prayer: Abba Father, give me the grace to guard against any form of compromises in my life that will eventually hurt my integrity and cause me to lose Your approval, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!