Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Character or character what are we really?

Want to be a great example to people, keep your character and integrity in tact, never compromise that! Luke 12:3
You may not think it, but what you say and do, whether in private or not, tends too come out in the open one way or another. We may not let the world know what we are doing, and most certainly, in our minds, we are getting away with something. That is dangerous, and wrong thinking that we trap ourselves into believing.

Jesus said, "For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops." What Jesus is saying here, nothing we do, nothing we say, that goes against character, and integrity, will be hidden.

If we lie, it we tend to get caught, because once we start we have to continue fabricating our stories until we one day get tripped up. What happens then is, we have lost trust. Once trust is lost, it is harder to gain back, because to regain trust, we can never lie again. If lying has been our practice, it is a difficult habit to break! We will never gain trust if we cannot break the bad habit.

The worse trap we set for ourselves is, no one can see me, or no one has heard me. Yes someone has, and that someone is God! We forget He is everywhere we are. Whether lost or saved, God is everywhere! Not only that, we tend to brag, or tell someone we think we can trust, with information you don't want to get out. Because, when we do wrong, we feel guilty, or want to brag. We have to share that and when we do... get the picture?

Cheating, stealing, dishonesty, etc., are all traits of character and integrity breakdown. When we do these things, people, friends, and family, anyone in our circle of influence is affected! When we are a leader, a boss, a Christian, a Pastor, a mom, a dad, anyone with influence, people are watching and listening! And they should, because they need examples.

But when we choose to break the rules of integrity, and throw our character out the window for a moment of pleasure, something we feel we can get away with, and no body will know, somehow and someway we get caught. If not now maybe later down the road. The results are still tragic and have consequences. A loss of respect, a loss of trust, broken homes, loss of family and friends, the list can go on.

People's lives, our families, all those around us deserve better. They need to know there are still people who have morals. If not us then who? If we cannot do what is right in the eyes of God and those around us, why do we expect it from anyone else? If we truly sit and think about it, these are traits we do not like about others, yet we do them, why? Because we think we can get away with it! Wrong!

Everyone gets caught eventually. Is it worth it? You need to ask yourself, what would be the cost of my decision? Could I loose respect and trust of those around me? Will I be leading people astray, causing them to stumble, because they saw me as a person of integrity and character? Instead, what they saw was deceit, dishonesty, which resulted in disappointment and let down.

If we talk it, we need to walk it! if not, it may be best that we do not hold positions of leadership or responsibility. Until we can walk as children of light, until we can live an open book life, we may need to do a little soul searching. If we are making excuses to do wrong, if we cannot come clean, and live clean before those around us, We need to stop and think.

We need to take time, do a personal inventory, come before God, back to God, or even take this time to ask Him into your life and make you, who you need to be. To transform you, take away the old and replace
 it with the new. People deserve better. They need to see people holding on to their integrity, that their character is important. We need to be that important to ourselves, what do we have to gain? Everything!  What do we have to lose? Everything!

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