Integrity: Character Strength for a Lifetime - Part 3

As newborn babies, we begin life helpless and dependent on others to nurture and care for us in ways that develop feelings of safety and trust. Infants need to be loved and cherished so feelings of trust and security can emerge. Others of God's creation may nurture by instinct, but humans depend on the integrity, love, and compassion of their parents.

Feelings of safety and trust are the foundation on which all developmental stages of life are built. Therefore children need constancy and order, guidance and training, to help them develop integrity for making life's decisions throughout all the other phases of life. Integrity is the character strength that enables a person to face death, as life ends here on earth.

Refrain from idealizing integrity because it doesn't imply perfection. Integrity, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, Christ Jesus, and God's word, gives us guidance for making tough choices that life forces upon us. Integrity and appropriate behaviors form a partnership to create a clear conscience in the person who loves God and desires to please him.  

Integrity: Character Strength for a Lifetime - Part 2

Experiencing a crisis of integrity at any stage of adult development is possible. Integrity is one of those words that has far-reaching implications, for it's deeply enmeshed into our character and personality. Integrity reaches into the core of our soul and, in some respects, serves as a guiding light for all of life's opportunities and problems.

When integrity is diminished, our character suffers grave consequences. How would you define integrity? A friend in her late fifties responded with: "A person of integrity has backbone." Another friend said: "A man of integrity is a square shooter." Courage and conviction to do what is right, along with honesty, define integrity for these two people.

God intends for us to evaluate the strength of our integrity because it's vulnerable to change. Our choices sustain, elevate, or diminish integrity, so it's crucial  to remember that God supplies us with his grace, mercy, and forgiveness when sin damages our integrity. God promises to restore and strengthen our integrity as we, in faith, ask him to do so.  

Integrity: Character Strength for a Lifetime - Part 1

The years between youth and retirement often are filled with giving your absolute best for the highest possible achievement, yet both success and failure are prevalent on the pathway to retirement. You're well aware of the determined adolescent who leaves home for college only to return home a semester later unable to re-enroll because of poor grades.

Getting back on track is a requirement at specific intervals along the way to success. What helps is knowing that God is at work to provide confidence for facing an uncertain future. Jesus gave us these words of challenge. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, about your body, what you will wear." He's telling us to re-focus. God cares and will provide.

Moving past failure and disappointment is ultimately dependent on faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, who endows us with intrinsic value and self-worth. This motivates us to be receptive to God's purpose for us as our aging consistently progresses onward. God gives us wisdom and discernment for choosing what is appropriate at each stage of our development.

Treasure Hunting - Part 3

The journey toward mid-life is often approached with resistance or even denial. Someone observed that as a generation grows older an important issue all must face is what to do with the wisdom and knowledge gained during the past decades of adult life. How you deal with this issue speaks loud and clear in defining the kind of person you are in particular.

All your life you may have been generous with what you possess as a result of the gifts and talents God gave you. It includes the practical, emotional, and intellectual skills you used to subdue the challenges God placed before you. As you come to this stage of life, the challenge is to pass on to the next generation what was given to you.

Productive change includes standing up for the godly influence you can be on those around you. It's giving something that money can't buy and receiving the promise of 2 Corinthians 9:8: "And God is able to make all grace abound in you, so that in all things, at all times you will abound in every good work." May God's grace always be evident in you.

Choosing a New Perspective - Part 2

We're living in a time of rapid change. The development of technologies and world-wide cultural changes make it impossible to stay abreast of even simple advances. Yet what is new soon becomes old and so we await news of what's coming next. This might make you consider Solomon's declaration that "there is nothing new under the sun."

It's apparent that we must change as each stage of life confronts us. Our youthful appearance gives way as we mature in age. Our physical endurance diminishes with advanced years. The common wisdom of our day warns us, "Use it or lose it," which includes the mind's eager willingness to learn and the body's muscles that tend to atrophy with neglect.

Cooperating with change is healthier than denying its intrusion into your life. Begin by taking stock of what's needed to put your house in order and then do it. Jesus said, "I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and fellowship with you." Change in partnership with Jesus can be exciting and joyful.