Living a Life of Integrity

I will lead a life of integrity
in my own home.

Psalm 101:2b New Living Translation

How's your character? When noone else is watching, how disciplined are you? When you know you won't get caught, how do you behave?

As we see politicians lose their careers and reputations over their expenses claims, we should look at our own lives before we condemn others. We might not be able to take advantage of generous expense accounts but do we "bend the rules" in our workplaces to get what we want?

We might look bright and pure on the outside but if there was a secret camera filming us at home, how would we look?

I believe that one of the hardest tests that Christians face is their own self-discipline. To remember to spend quality time with God each day can be hard. To show the same grace and love to your family on Monday as you do from the pulpit on Sunday is not always easy.

The truth is that we can easily forget that the qualifications God looks for are not found on scrolls or diplomas but are written on our hearts (read Titus 7-9, 1 Timothy 3:1-12 etc). God is far more interested in what we do at home than He is in the show we try to put on in church.

So, whether you are at home or at work, keep working hard and remain self-disciplined. Even Paul, the most well-known of the apostles knew that, without self-discipline, we become easy targets for the enemy. He said:

"I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified."

(1 Corinthians 9:27 NLT)

To some of you reading this, your self-discipline could be a matter of life and death. Choosing wrongly could cost you your health, your happiness or even worse, your eternal salvation. If Paul needed to keep himself under control and disciplined so as not to be disqualified, so do we.

So, where is it you need more self-discipline? Is it in your time? Is it in how you spend your money? Is it the TV shows you watch or the websites you visit? Do you need to exercise more regularly? What about smoking? Wherever you need more discipline, it is worth it. In my next post I will look at how we can help each other with this.

Until then, stay the course!

Jonathan