Integrity & The Lack Thereof In America

George Washington along with many Christians prized integrity for several centuries in both colonial and republican (our cconstitutional rrepublic) America.  That does not need mean that these men were perfect nor does it mean that America is without blemish, for she has many.  However, when someone took an oath or vow in which integrity was on the line, it was serious because that vow or oath was in the name of The God of the Bible. They were not made rashly, and they were not made on unBiblical grounds. 

However, integrity is an after thought today. Why?

As America has left its Christian base, its moral compass has been abandoned for relativism and situational ethics.  For this reason, integrity means very little to most people, and the results are enormous.  Not only does this affect the court system in cases of perjury, but it affects everyday life, especially marriage.  American citizenry looks for ways out of honesty instead of binding its conscience to that which is honorable.  Ironically, to be honorable today is to be outdated and old-fashioned. 

How shall we then live?

As Christians, we are held to a higher standard no matter the era or culture we live in.  We must not let the wiles of the world, the flesh, and the Devil deter us from that which good, loving, holy, and just.  We are to honor parents, spouses, etc., and we must do this with great fervor in the realm of integrity. 

Therefore, let us walk in Biblical honesty and be circumcised of heart that our praise maycome from God and not merely men from religiosity and a culture that is steeped in dishonesty.

The Praise of Man: What will people think?

Have you ever heard the question "What will people think?" or something to that effect. Do we strive to receive praise from God or man? We consume ourselves with what other people think about us yet give little thought to what God thinks. This is because we want the approval of man and not God. It is hard to have a backbone in a godless age where false accusations run rampant. The truth is that the Apostle Paul dealt with the same thing, for his 2nd letter to the Corinthians is dealing with just that. There is nothing new under sun.

Our response flows from our heart. We are not to be fake on the hand, yet we are not to act rudely on the other. Blessing those that curse us and who make false accusations about us is quite difficult. Every fiber of our being wants to lash out, yet we must let the strength of the Lord keep us calm. For many years, I always gave a retort when falsely accused, yet now I leave room for the vengeance of God, for He will always enact a better judgment than I could ever conjure up.

As painful as such gossip may be, in time you really find out who is trustworthy and who is not. You begin to notice who has your back and who doesn't. At times, those who become the most trustworthy are those that you may even once had a serious beef with before. I have seen this is on my own life. Biblically, we are not to be doormats but rather confront those with whom we have a difficulty with. When both sides acknowledge their sin, then an incredible reconciliation occurs to the point where both people think highly of each other and become true friends and/or comrades.

Some refuse to admit their sin, and reconciliation becomes bleak, yet we must not harbor bitterness towards such people. That does not mean we have to act as if we have not been wronged, and it does not mean that we are to regard the person with a high level of trust. However, we are to still love the person, which means that we are willing to come to their aid should aid be needed. In doing so, we heap burning coals upon their head (Rom 12). I have been on both ends of that as the Lord's vengeance is given. Verily, it is far better to repent and seek reconciliation if at all possible, for it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the Living God when we live with bitterness and resentment! Amen!

Praying for Pregnant Women

Many of us take for granted our own briths and all the hardships that our mothers went through to bring us to the point of birth.  Some women don't suffer as much as others, but many experience a tremendous amount of nauseau along with severe complications during birth.

Pain in childbirth is the result of the Fall as is clearly laid on in Genesis 3. Nonetheless, we are still empowered by the Lord to pray for grace during such times, which can be very grueling and difficult for pregant women. 

If your are married, take special care of your wife when she is pregnant, and be gracious when she is nauseous and can't do much.  Pick up the slack often. After all, you partook in bringing this about, glorious yet arduous at times.

Gossip: A Deadly Sin

Gossip is a despicable sin that each of us succumbs to. The human heart is deceitfully wicked, and we are constantly attempting to build ourselves up by tearing others down. Even if we are not the ones speaking the gossip, our ears often perk up just to listen to it, and, by attentively listening, we endorse it.

Ironically, the same measure we use to judge others (done quite a bit through gossip) is the same measure others will judge us. In this way, if one gossips about someone to another, that same person is most likely to then gossip about the gossiper. In a vain attempt to build oneself up through demeaning another, one has actually torn oneself down even further as the next man gossips to others about the gossiper!

Prayer gossip is a more subtle form, for, we often make a prayer request about someone not because we care but because we want to tear someone down. "Please pray for such and such; they have a bad marriage, and I heard that Jim's been drinking again." Now if the person asks for prayer and also asks that it be made known to others, then that's legitimate, but we must be careful in handling such sensitive matters.

When confronted with gossip, it is important at once to immediately change the conversation to something more fruitful. If tempted to gossip, then take that thought captive to Christ, and think upon Him and His glory and refuse to gossip.

To Him be the glory! Amen!

Children, Anxiety, and Idolatry

In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus Commands us not to worry.  "25For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27"And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28"And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' 32"For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

As a father, I am especially prone to have anxiety over my children, which is sin.   We live in a fallen world, and calamity is going to occur, and our love for our children can easily become idolatrous, which is why anxiety sets in.  Because we can set our love for them above our love for God, we do everything we can do preserve this idol.  However, our children are not our own, and, is not God more grieved at this fallen world than we are?

Sometimes we think that God is apathetic to our calamities, yet Christ experienced such things on a regular basis.  He was grieved over the death of Lazarus and the effects of sin in a fallen world.  Because the world is fallen, Lazarus would taste death (twice actually), and Christ wept over the ills that sin had brought into the world since Adam, even though He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead! 

In Romans, 8:28-30, we read "28And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified."  God is not going to forsake His beloved sheep, and when we experience hardship, He is not vindictive against us.  He does discipline us when we need it, but He does not hate His sheep.  He is the Good Shepherd, and laid down His life for the sheep (Jn 10:11-18).  

He not only loves His sheep, which don't deserve it, but He is also in absolute control of all things.  Even the hearts of kings are ultimately subjected to His divine will. Proverbs 21:1 states,"The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes."  God is Sovereign in all things, and we must rest in that.  We are commanded to do so, and we reflect that from the heart when we are not anxious.  God is God, and we rest in Him.

Therefore, we humbly bow before the Risen Christ, and submit to the will of our Triune God! Amen!  Anxiety stems from our desire to be in control, and that control stems from pride, and where pride is, the burden is immense.  Let us give Him the burden that we can't handle and thus the glory that we don't deserve.  He reigns, and we rest in Him! Praise Him who is in control of all things! To Him be the glory forever! Amen!