Integrity

 

“Again, you heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to יהוה.’But I say to you, do not swear [vainly] at all, neither by the heaven, because it is Elohim’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool nor by Yerushalayim, for it is the city of the great Sovereign; nor swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. “But let your word ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ And what goes beyond these is from the wicked one. (Matt 5:33-37)

Integrity in our speech.

Have you ever paid close attention to the speech of yourself and others looking for the ways we emphasize, exaggerate, and highlight what is being said? So many times we are adding an element of dishonesty to the conversation when we employ these tactics to express the ideas we are communicating.  Years ago Yah showed this to me.  I do try to be honest and not exaggerate when conveying a message, but it's something we are bombarded with daily when consuming the news. The cleverly worded headlines seldom reflect the story. I keep in mind that I am accountable for every word I speak (Matt 12:36), someone is keeping track. 

Integrity in our actions

Galatians 6:7 Do not be led astray: Elohim is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he shall also reap.

Hebrews 4:13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all are naked and laid bare before the eyes of Him with whom is our account.

1 John 3:19-21 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall set our hearts at rest before Him, that if our heart condemns us, Elohim is greater than our heart, and knows all. Beloved ones, if our heart does not condemn us, we have boldness toward Elohim.

Someone is keeping track of our actions/works/deeds as well as our words. People are capable of horrendous things if they think no one will know.  But all will be made known and laid bare. We will give an account for all things done in secret. Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking,  yet Yah is always looking.  

Integrity with ourselves 

It is self defeating to be dishonest with ourselves.  How can you repent of sins of which we've given ourselves excuses? How can we lose that extra five pounds if we ignore the 500 calories in that milk shake? And on the other hand,  how easily we can be judged by another person's standard if we are not holding ourselves to Yah's standard? Lying to ourselves only postpones the inevitable pain of being held responsible.  We have to face those sins, confess and repent to propel our spiritual growth.  We gotta give up the milk shakes or limit them in order to lose that five pounds. If we are striving for Yah's standard, then other's standards are dim in comparison, and we won't care about false accusations, walking with our heads held high.  

I didn't make it to the Baptism event,  but did manage a 48 hour fast.  It always makes my body feel awesome, sometimes I forget that.  

A work in progress 

Teresa