Shortly before his death, the Duke of Burgundy was presiding over the Cabinet Council of France. A proposal was made that would violate an existing treaty but would secure important advantages for the country. Many “good” reasons were offered to justify this action. The Duke listened in silence. When all had spoken, he closed the conference without giving approval. Placing his hand on a copy of the original agreement, he said with firmness in his voice, “Gentlemen, we have a treaty!”

I believe sometimes we think that whatever seems right is the right thing to do. But, if doing what seems right violates our integrity in the eyes of another, is it really worth it? Keeping our word is always the right thing to do. Jesus said, “Let your yea be yea and your nay, nay.”

A newspaper reported an unusual incident at a fast-food restaurant. The manager had put the day’s cash in a paper bag for deposit that night, but an attendant mistook it for an order and gave it to a couple at the drive-through window.

A short time later, when the man and woman opened the bag in a nearby park, they were shocked by its contents. They immediately drove back to return it.

The manager had already reported a robbery, so police cars and a TV crew were on the scene. How relieved he was to get the money back! He said to the couple, “You should be featured on the evening news for your honesty.”

“Oh, please, no publicity!” replied the man nervously. “She’s not my wife.”

People sometimes have a warped sense of integrity. This couple wanted to do the right thing on one hand, but were doing the wrong thing with the other.  What do you think makes people have such a double standard?

Tags: honesty, integrity

This week we’ll look at the topic of Integrity. In June of 1994, 62,000 men gathered at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis for an event called Promise Keepers. One goal of the conference was to challenge men to demonstrate integrity by adhering to the principles for godly living set forth in the Bible. According to one report, the men started meeting that goal right away.

During a break, the hallways were jammed with men. One hungry guy who was stuck by a food stand bought a hot dog, but the mustard was clear across the concourse. Undaunted, he handed the dog to the next man and requested, “Mustard.” Off it went.

The woman who sold the snack laughed and said, “Honey, you aren’t going to see that hot dog again.” “Yes, he will,” someone replied. “These guys are Christians.” Sure enough, the hot dog made it back – with mustard.

In a world when we can’t trust one another, Christians should be a beacon in the darkness. Have you seen integrity work in your world?

Tags: integrity

Barb Schieber passed away Friday evening. She was a pillar in our church during the early days. She was one of our best teachers and was always working with the children’s ralleys we had back then. Barb was a tireless perfectionist who always did it “right”. She was a stately lady who mentored my wife in many ways.

I remember when she decided to retire from teaching children. I tried to talk her into staying, but she was a pioneer. She observed so many young women in the church deferring to her, and she knew no one would step up to becoming a teacher as long as the “older women” were doing it all. So she stepped aside and forced some younger, not so experienced, ladies to gain the experience they needed for the future of the church. This classy lady later struggled with Parkinson’s disease that stripped her of her functionality, but never her faith. I will miss Barb. What will you remember about Barb Schieber?

When I was a child, Hell was talked about as often as Heaven. It was a place to be feared because we understood it to be the place where God punished sin. But today churches have become silent on the topic. Most pastors still believe in such a place, we just don’t to make people feel insecure. But perhaps insecure people should be made to feel their insecurity.

What can you add about Hell? What experiences confirm or deny what I said this weekend? Do you disagree with something I said or have another viewpoint. We’d like to know.

Evangelist Raymond McAllister shared this interesting story. While preaching in a church in Mississippi, the pastor announced that their prison quartet would be singing the following evening. He wasn’t aware there was a prison in the vicinity and he looked forward to hearing them.

The next evening, McAllister was puzzled when four members of the church approached the stage. Then the pastor introduced them. “This is our prison quartet,” he said, “behind a few bars and always looking for the key.”

Many of us have a similar “prison ministry”. We don’t really excel at anything, but we’re steady. We’re always there when needed and have a reputation for being a helper. Thank God for those with a “helps” ministry. They support those with a different gift to excel in their own gift.