March 8 I Monday

Deuteronomy 4-6

Mark 11:1-18

“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.”   —Proverbs 10:9

Author and pastor John Maxwell once said, “Image is what people think we are; integrity is what we really are.” Last fall, I had the windows of my car tinted and paid for the work in cash. I asked the manager to make sure the amount was all there and he said he trusted me. I left my car and went for lunch. At the restaurant, when I opened my wallet, I found that there was more cash in there than should have been. $40 to be exact, and I knew, because I went to the bank machine that morning to withdraw cash for the windows. 

       I decided to call the window tinting dealership and ask them if I had paid enough. But when I called, no one picked up, and there was no answering machine for me to leave a message. I persisted a few times to no avail. Then, I went back to the shop, and as I was walking in, I saw the technician who tinted my windows. He immediately recognized me and I asked if his manager was there. I told the technician, “I am not sure if I paid enough. I went to lunch and had more money in my wallet than I should have.” The technician looked me in the eye and started to laugh. He told me, “You have to understand, most people come here, get their windows tinted and then say to us that they forgot to go to the bank and they are going to run and grab the cash. But they get into their car and just drive away. They never come back to actually pay for the services. Yet here you are, worried that you had not paid us enough.” And he goes back to laughing. The manager came out and sure enough, I was $40 short. I gave him the remainder of the cash and moved on with my day.

       We live in a world where integrity is hard to come by, and people like to get away with as little payment as possible. The definition of “integrity” is “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles or moral uprightness; the state of being whole and undivided.” 

       As Christians, to live with integrity, we live in dependence upon the Spirit of Christ at work within us. We derive our principles of integrity from Scripture, and our prayer is communion with God, which cultivates a life of integrity. C.S. Lewis once said, “Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.” May we be God’s people of integrity.

Prayer: Dear God, I want to live a life of integrity— help me depend on Your Spirit, hold firm to the trustworthiness of Scripture and cultivate a life of prayer. Thank You, God.