Integrity and Honesty

Posted on by korgrocker

“See how many enemies I have and how viciously they hate me! Protect me! Rescue my life from them! Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge. May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you.”
Psalm 25:19-21 NLT

Integrity and honesty seem in short supply these days. As an example, what do people think of the political class in any Western country? I’m sure such words as “integrity” and “honesty” would not appear on the list of descriptive adjectives for most. David claimed that “integrity and honesty protect [him], for [he has] put [his] hope in the Lord”. He had a point, because those who behave in such ways will avoid most of the troubles that come from living in a society that is rife with lies and deceit. It says in Proverbs 10:9, “People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed“. From a slightly different angle, Proverbs 11:3 records, “Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people“. In fact, the Book of Proverbs contains quite a few verses about integrity and honesty, and their opposites, lies and deceit. Proverbs 12:19-20, “Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed. Deceit fills hearts that are plotting evil; joy fills hearts that are planning peace!” The wise old sages in Israel knew all about the value of telling truth and avoiding lies.

According to “gotquestions.org”, “In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word translated “integrity” means “the condition of being without blemish, completeness, perfection, sincerity, soundness, uprightness, wholeness.” Integrity in the New Testament means “honesty and adherence to a pattern of good works””. A comprehensive, Bible-based exposé of the qualities necessary to enjoy God’s security and protection.

The best example of a person with integrity in the Bible is Jesus. As both God and man, He was without sin, totally without blemish of any kind. There was no deceit on Him at all, as we read in 1 Peter 2:21b-22, “… [Christ] is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone”. We read the accounts about Jesus and find a sinless man of complete honesty and integrity. Hebrews 4:15, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin“. We read about the temptations of Jesus, where the devil caught Him in a time of weakness, and see how Jesus stood strong and resolute, standing on the integrity of Scripture to fend off the temptations that would have led to sin. We pilgrims, believers in Christ, are called to be like Him. We knelt at the Cross, confessing and repenting of our sins, and Jesus took them upon HImself. But here’s the wonderful thing, He then gave us His righteousness, His sinless righteousness, so that we could become His brothers and sisters, adopted children of God. How amazing is that! So we too aspire to walk in integrity and honesty, just as Jesus did. No! More than that. In faith we do walk in integrity and honesty, resisting all attempts and distractions to corrupt us and lead us into sin. Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father”.

Of course, it is inevitable that we will stumble and fall. We are human, and always the focus of the devil and his minions who want to lead us into sin. Sadly, we will on occasion fall for one of his scams. But we have a remedy. 1 John 1:9, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness”. There you have it – back on track again walking in integrity and honesty. In God’s Kingdom we are new creations. Paul wrote, “throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy” (Ephesians 4:22-24). We walk in faith towards the goal of perfection and holiness through Jesus. We will never get there in this life, I fear, but we try, in the knowledge that our loving Heavenly Father is there helping us every step of the way. One day we will be like Jesus – Paul wrote, “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29). Amen?

Dear God. We aspire to walk in integrity and honesty just like Jesus did. Please help us, we pray, and please forgive us when we fail. We want to become more like Jesus. In His precious name. Amen,

Honesty

Posted on by korgrocker

“God is my shield, saving those whose hearts are true and right. God is an honest judge. He is angry with the wicked every day.”
Psalm 7:10-11 NLT

There is an old saying, “Honesty is the best policy”, and David uses the word “Honest” to describe God. Of course, God is in an unique position as judge because He doesn’t have to depend on the testimonies of witnesses, the statements from the accused in the dock, or the speeches of the prosecuting and defence counsels. God sees right into the hearts of the people accused of a crime. Such an insight in our courts of law would radically transform the dispensation of justice. And we would have nothing to fear from miscarriages of justice because God is “honest”. 

David also describes God as his shield, “saving those whose hearts are true and right”. In David’s day, a shield would protect a soldier from spears, swords or arrows, intent, in the hands of the attacker, in causing harm, piercing the hearts of the one being attacked. And so it is with our thoughts and actions in less tangible ways. David said that if a person is honest, then God will shield that person’s heart, their reputation and integrity, from the attacks of those who would claim otherwise. 

There are a wealth of Scriptures that extol the virtues of honesty. For example, Proverbs 12:22, “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in those who tell the truth“. Or there’s Proverbs 19:1, “Better to be poor and honest than to be dishonest and a fool“. There are those who perhaps cover up a dishonest act, in the hope, even expectation, that they will never be found out. But, as David wrote, God sees all, and “He is angry with the wicked every day”. We pilgrims live lives of honesty and integrity, because we know that there is no other way. Even the smallest act of dishonesty will eat away at our souls and ultimately destroy our standing before an angry God. The sad thing is that many Christians founder on the rocks of dishonesty, starting in small ways and rationalising in their minds alternatives to an honest appraisal. There is no way other than the way of honesty. 

Dear Father God. Please help us to walk in honesty every day of our lives. Please point out to us any ways in which we fall short of Your standards. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Change the Subject

Posted on by korgrocker

““I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!” “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?””
John 4:17-20 NLT

The conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman turned from talking about water to a prophetic word of knowledge from Jesus about the woman’s marital experiences. To have five failed marriage behind her and now a less formal relationship with number six, was remarkable and presumably uncomfortable and embarrassing for the woman. So she hurriedly moved the conversation on again, this time to introduce what was probably a contentious situation between the Jews and Samaritans over worship and where it could legitimately take place. 

The Jews of course focused their worship on the Temple in Jerusalem, but there was also much history behind Mount Gerizim. We read in Deuteronomy 27 how Moses instructed half of the Israelite tribes to stand on Mount Gerizim, with the other half standing on the other mountain across the valley, Mount Ebal. We read in Deuteronomy 27:11-13, “That same day Moses also gave this charge to the people: “When you cross the Jordan River, the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin must stand on Mount Gerizim to proclaim a blessing over the people. And the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali must stand on Mount Ebal to proclaim a curse”. Gerizim became known as the Mount of Blessing, and the Samaritans built a temple there.

So the Jews and Samaritans sadly found something else to argue about, and the Samaritan woman used the conflict  to try and regain the initiative in the conversation with Jesus. She wasn’t sure what was coming in the debate about husbands so finding safer territory about something less personal became important. This is a technique found in conversations in society today, and publicly many politicians have honed this diversionary tactic to perfection. So often a question is asked and the answer seems to be totally unrelated and unexpected. Attempts to refocus the question generally fail.

So how do we pilgrims converse with others, particularly in a society which is becoming less tolerant of “free speech” and wishes to promote ideologies at variance with Biblical beliefs? Two words regularly crop up in Scriptures – honesty and integrity. Using evasive methods to avoid answering questions brings us, perhaps, to Proverbs 12:22, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight“. Once again, in a world of change, with a society becoming more and more secular, with the rejection of God and His Book, the Bible, it is good to delve into the Scriptures that have stood the test of time and are as true today as when they were written. So we pilgrims pursue honesty and integrity, speaking truths on every occasion. There is no other way.

Dear Father God. Your Son Jesus said He was “the way, the truth and the life”. So there is no better way than to follow Him all the days of our lives. Amen.

False Accusations

Posted on by korgrocker

“Malicious witnesses testify against me. They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.” Psalms‬ ‭35:11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Throughout the Bible much is written about “bearing false witness”. It means telling lies about someone. Or accusing them of something that they haven’t done. Or gossiping about them, particularly on social media. But not to bear false witness against your neighbour was the ninth commandment that Moses delivered to the Israelites. God gave this commandment to the Israelite nation for a reason – “bearing false witness” strikes at the very fabric of society because it destroys relationships. And here we have David in Psalm 35 complaining that he was being accused of crimes he didn’t commit, caught up in the middle of a storm of rebellion in the society he was trying to lead. But this wasn’t just an Old Testament problem. It was prevalent in New Testament times as well – Jesus Himself was similarly accused (Matthew 26:60) and also Stephen, one of the early church leaders, in Acts 6:13.

And the problem hasn’t gone away today, with a constant stream of false accusations and comments about sports people and others being posted on social media. People’s reputations are easily destroyed by careless words in the workplace, or in conversations with others. The problem is all about the evil thoughts that people have within their hearts and Jesus thought this problem was important enough to teach about – we read what He said in Matthew 15:19. And the Apostle James wrote about the dangers of the spoken word in the third chapter of his epistle.

So what is to be done about this perennial problem? The bottom line is that each one of us must be careful about what we say and how we say it. We must think carefully before hitting the “return” key. We must ask ourselves the question, “is what I am about to say or write true, helpful, necessary and encouraging?” And we must strive to apply the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:18, “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.”

God Talks to Me

Posted on by korgrocker

“My heart has heard You say, “Come and talk with Me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”” Psalms‬ ‭27:8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

What an amazing verse! That the Creator of the universe and all that is in it would want to talk to David, the Psalmist? Really? But God favours no one more than any other. David’s experience of dialogue with God wasn’t just for him – it’s for everyone. And note this – God initiated the conversation. So I have to face into the fact that my amazing God wants to talk to me. So how do I respond? “Sorry, God, but I’m too busy right now?” Or ”sorry, God, there’s a TV programme I need to watch?” I can invent any number of excuses. But the truth is quite clear – He wants to talk to me. There is only one response that is acceptable – “Lord, I am coming”. God knows my busy schedules. He knows what living on planet earth demands. But there will be times when He wants to talk to me and I need to turn up my spiritual receptors so that I respond in His timing, not mine.

God talks to me through His Word. Through a gentle nudge from the Holy Spirit. Through a comment from a fellow pilgrim in my community of faith. But He invites me to talk with Him. To join Him in an intimate conversation devoid of religious jargon. Full of honesty and grace. And He whispers with love and mercy, what I need to hear.

God is inviting you, my friend, to talk with Him as well. How will you respond?

Integrity

Posted on by korgrocker

“May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in You.”
“Declare me innocent, O Lord, for I have acted with integrity; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.” Psalms‬ ‭25:21, ‭26:1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Two verses from adjacent Psalms. Both mentioning the word “integrity”. And both in the context of the Psalmist David’s relationship with God. The God we worship is a God of integrity, a God who is totally honest, who never lies, and He put within us the same seed of integrity. This is why if we lie, we immediately have a problem with our conscience, causing feelings of guilt which can lead ultimately to mental health issues if unaddressed. Whether human beings like it or not, within them is God’s DNA. It’s how He created us. And to this problem of a lack of honesty and integrity, the word “sin” has been ascribed. But God, in His mercy, could see the problem of sin and guilt and He sent His Son, Jesus, to be the propitiation for our sins. Through Jesus we have the remedy for sin, and the means to return back to God’s presence, to a place of integrity and honesty. Yes, there may be earthly consequences to our sins, but nevertheless, God will forgive.

It was very important to our Psalmist that God recognised his integrity, because through that he knew that God would protect him. Through that relationship, that closeness to God, he knew that he was in the best place, the place God had designed for him. And so it is with us. By reaching out to God this morning, confessing our sins before Him and allowing Him to forgive us, we too can be in that “sweet spot”, that place of relationship with God.