Deception + Fraud = Failure

Rebekah and Jacob are not the kind of people you would choose as role models. Have you ever questioned why God allows such characters to be included in Holy Scripture? This mother and son combination is the epitome of deception and fraud driven by greed to get the best of what belongs to someone else.

The blessing Isaac was to give Esau was a prize that’s hard for us to comprehend. What would be the most exceptional gift you could receive? The blessing was an honorable, prestigious gift that set you apart from others in your family. No one else could rise above you. Rebekah and Jacob stole that prize from Esau.

God gave us this story for a purpose. God wants us build bridges of integrity as strongholds to prevent lusting after what belongs to others and using deception to get what we want. God enlightens our conscience with the Holy Spirit to guide us in setting boundaries to keep us within God’s approval. Be thankful for God’s faithfulness.  

Confronting Unhealthy Pressure

Proverbs 22 challenges parents to “teach their children to choose the right path because when they are older they will remain upon it.” What did Rebekah teach Jacob as a child and adolescent that allowed him to defraud his brother Esau of their father’s blessing? Fear of discovery was overwhelmed by Rebekah’s convincing words of deception.

What prevented Jacob from standing up to the pressure his mother was putting on him to commit this heinous sin? His mother’s values prevented her from teaching him appropriate boundaries and God’s rules for living. Little did he know this act of deception and fraud would permanently separate him from his mother.

Rebekah apparently felt it’s okay to be deceitful provided you don’t get caught. Jacob must have been driven by greed and lust for power and prestige. He would have to learn time and again that God neither sleeps nor slumbers. God knows our deeds and our heart, yet consistently desires to create in us a clean heart through our repentance if we will but seek it.

Integrity Guards Self-Respect - Part 2

Harper Lee in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird noted, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view, until you climb into their skin and walk around in it." In truth, understanding anyone requires having correct motives and being willing to respect and accept what is different or opposite of what we believe or think.

Self-respect is built on integrity. If true self-respect resides in a person, then the possibility of having respect from and for others will exist. Henry Amiel understood this when he said, "We only understand that which is already within us." Self-respect comes from knowing what is right and doing it. This brings honor to God, self and others.

An old Chinese proverb is instructive: "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." Self-respect and self-love are grounded in doing what is upright, good, and godly. Old habits are tenacious, but integrity and endurance must be sought after and practiced. God bless you as you commit to doing so. 

Integrity Guards Self-Respect - Part 1

Self-love and self-respect have nothing in common with self-righteousness. I can understand how these concepts get confusing for some people, even devout Christians. The Bible warns of thinking too highly of oneself because it makes us vulnerable to failure. The goal of self-righteousness is to deceive. It gives the impression we’re above the rules of society.

Thomas Adams said, "Self-righteousness is the devil's masterpiece. It persuades us to think too highly of ourselves." However, healthy self-esteem parallels self-respect and self-love, which are companions to the commandments to love God with your entire being and your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus modeled for us self-respect and self-love by consistently putting himself into the role of a servant even though his righteousness was on the same level as God the Father. Appropriate self-respect and self-love reach out to others and are the building blocks for establishing values for a happier, healthier, contented life.

Pervasiveness of Evil: Guard Your Heart - Part 3

Evil has the capacity to invade every area of life, as it did for Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Human beings seem to have a propensity toward evil. Although we don't like to discuss it, it’s obvious that evil is a major contender for the heart and soul of every person.

Numbers 25 relates how Israel turned away from God and toward evil. Listen to The Living Bible. "While Israel was camped at Acacia, some of the young men began going to wild parties with the local Moabite girls. These girls invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods. Before long all of Israel was joining freely in the worship of Baal, and the anger of the Lord turned hot against them." Isn’t it amazing how the young people influenced the adults?

It's apparent that guarding one's heart and soul against evil is a lifetime endeavor. As you begin this new year, turn your heart, your soul, your behaviors, as well as your love and affection toward Christ Jesus. What better way to secure God’s blessings? Happy New Year.  

Change, Challenge, and Convictions of Steel - Part 3

Engagement is a wonderful word most often referring to a couple's decision to make their relationship exclusive. Engagement means entering a covenant bond with promises regarding roles and behaviors to be honored for a lifetime. The integrity of each person entering this covenant bond affects the endurance of the relationship.

Engagement is an essential factor in communication. Engaging a person in conversation means more than exchanging words. It indicates two people are on the same track and their exchange of words is meaningful. To engage another person means to give value to that person, and it goes beyond words to give recognition to what another is feeling.

Resilience is related to staying on track rather than getting sidetracked. Jesus in John 21 demonstrated resilience with Peter when he asked him three times, "Peter do you love me?" Jesus was aware of the trials yet to be endured by Peter. He engaged and challenged Peter by asking for a commitment that would endure regardless of hardships yet to be faced.

Salt, Light, and Second-Milers - Part 1

Sometimes life is so hectic, a trouble-free day appears impossible. The  smallest task that should take only a moment turns into such complexity that a whole day seems to evaporate. Life on the front burner takes energy and determination to resist defeat rather than to dissolve into frustration and anger. Discouragement has the power to control any situation.

God has given us the capacity to change, regardless of how diminished that capacity feels to us. Where there is motivation to find solutions, no problem is insurmountable. Resilient people learn to activate faith and hope to serve as a channel for transcending anger and frustration. Faith and hope create order and dignity, even in chaos and pain.

Jesus, in Matthew 5:41, instructs his listeners to be second-mile people, giving more than what's required to any challenge. Second-milers know they'll be rewarded, if only by enhancing their integrity. Life is complicated and hectic, so keep your attitude fixed on faith in Christ Jesus. Faith is God's gift to you. 

Choosing Integrity for the Family and Beyond - Part 3

God's word provides several examples of individuals who harden their hearts and refuse to cooperate with God's purpose for their lives. To harden your heart means to choose evil over righteousness by doing what is contrary to your conscience. It takes determination to harden your heart and deaden your integrity.

You suffocate your integrity by turning away from godly values and  refusing to accept responsibility for bad choices. Then it's easy to blame others for a weak or dead conscience. Jesus said, "Wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction...But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life."

Integrity is closely aligned with the heart and mind to give you guidance for  life's choices. Leonardo da Vinci observed, "Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity; even as inaction depletes the vitality of the mind." Jesus can, with your permission, create in you a clean your heart and give your integrity new life. Then you can stay on the narrow road that leads to life. 

Choosing Integrity for the Family and Beyond - Part 1

To feel anger is not a choice, but learning how to manage it constructively is a choice. Where love exists between a husband and wife, parent and child, or a deep friendship, frustration will sooner or later be experienced. Two people in a shared relationship have different views, needs, and desires, so the potential for frustration is certain.

To manage anger productively acknowledge the existence of frustration. Frustration is experienced when your rights are being violated or if your needs and  wants are being denied. If frustration is not dealt with on this basic primary level, then anger takes its place. Anger demands change because your integrity is jeopardized or put at risk.

To better manage your anger, ask, "Why am I angry?" Be honest. Letting unchecked anger fly diminishes integrity, but allowing others to express what they think and need enhances integrity. Jesus would not permit the anger of others to deter him from constructively expressing his own, as substantiated by Mark 3:5. Let Jesus be your help for all of life's problems.  

Damaged Integrity: Restoring and Rebuilding - Part 2

There's an interesting biographical book and movie called "Catch Me if You Can" about a man who was skilled in creating identities that allowed him to remain a fugitive. To him it was an art as much as it was an escape from justice. God equips us with gifts and talents, but we have the responsibility of choosing whether to use our God-given intelligence and skills for good or for evil.

Our integrity is measured by how we choose to use what God assigns us. Integrity is designed to be a guide for making godly choices. Integrity will serve as a guard against reacting detrimentally to oneself or others. In the Bible, Job is projected as a man of integrity, for in his darkest days he refused to abandon what he knew was right for him.

Being deceptive can harm or even destroy our integrity. Choose to change by believing God's purpose and plan replicates what is good and right for you. Trust God to give you wisdom to act on what will support the highest level of integrity. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."