Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Integrity Is...

You probably heard about him in the news a few weeks ago.  His name is Matt LaBrum.  He made quite a stir in a town in Utah when he suspended all 80 of his players from his football team.  He suspended them not because of their performance on the field.  Rather, he suspended them because of their performance off the field.  

He said in his letter to them, “The lack of character we are showing off the field is outshining what we are achieving on the field.  It is a privilege to play this wonderful game!  We must earn the opportunity to have the honor to put on our high school jerseys each Thursday and Friday night!” 

It is my opinion that Coach LaBrum taught them a thing or two about integrity.  By its definition the word integrity means: “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.”  He taught them that they cannot live up to their calling with excellence on the field and then turn around and contradict that excellence off the field.  He taught them that being men of integrity means that they lead a life of honesty and morality at all times, not just once in a while.

For a Christian, integrity is critical!  Here is what God has to say about integrity: “The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.(Proverbs 10:9).  When your family and friends observe your “walk” in life, what do they see?  Do they see someone who is walking with integrity or do they see someone with crooked paths?  Is there an area in your life where you are lacking integrity?  It may be hidden for now, but it comes out eventually.  Why not confess it to Jesus now?  Why not trust that you’re forgiven because of Jesus’ nail-scarred hands and empty tomb which proved His integrity on your behalf?  Why not choose a path of integrity now?  Why not make a difference in the lives of others, like Matt LaBrum did, by setting an example of integrity?

If you’re still breathing, and I assume that you are because you’re reading this blog post, then now is the time to recommit to living with integrity not to try to earn our way back on to Jesus’ team, but because we already are on His team.  Thank God for Jesus!  Let’s show Jesus that we mean what we say.  That’s integrity!

-Chris Johnson, Outreach and Young Adult Pastor

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