Have you ever been hiking? Here in Colorado, there are many places to go and hike. But you have to be careful sometimes. While it is fun, it can also be dangerous. The danger is exhilarating, and you’ll always remember how things went if you were with others, especially if someone gets hurt.
But one thing I really enjoy is when it’s over. The experience is nice. It gets tiring after a while trying to balance yourself on steep inclines and slippery slopes. It’s not easy. Sometimes I just prefer to walk on a path. I’m not sure how much more my knees can take either. It’s quite a beating.
If you think about it, level places are nice. There’s not a threat of falling, houses have a more solid foundation, there’s no fight for balance, and it’s a little easier to see ahead of me.
I’ve been reading in Psalms recently. Take a moment and read chapter 26.
Integrity. We want it. We look for it. All we have is our word. Relationships rise and fall on one’s integrity. Without trust nothing stands. It can’t. Once trust is lost, it takes much more effort to regain.
If you look back at the passage, we can see what it takes to walk in integrity. First off it takes good company. Sitting with people filled with deceit on a regular basis makes it more difficult to remain true. Accepting bribes from someone’s right hand brings you into their company. Not only that, it’s their strength, something they’re already good at. It’s a new association and fellowship that we’ve become a part of.
There’s a place we need to be instead. There’s and association we can always find ourselves in instead. The house of God, the company of worshipers. Just like bad company corrupts good character, good company encourages it. Remaining in the hope of God helps us remain true to Him.
Then we have witness, a credible testimony that can’t be refuted.
I guess this really is a very important topic for me. I’ve been instilled with some kind of pursuit of integrity. It’s my parents’ fault too. I have a really hard time with people who lack integrity. It’s something I long for in my life and try to instill within my children. Integrity is a character that is earned over time. The more people can trust you, the more integrity you are known for.
Reliability is important to me. It could be why I can’t stand being late. One minute past gets me irritated with myself. But something deeper to me is my reliability to God. If He can’t trust me with His Word, how can I ever be used by Him effectively? There are things that need work in my life in order for Him to entrust to me more of His Kingdom. I know of grace and mercy, this isn’t about that. It’s about what I’ve done with His gospel now.
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