Integrity

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‘Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, My strength and My Redeemer’.  Psalm 19:14 NKJV

Our words and thoughts are extremely important. Choosing what we say, how we say it and what we think is what is required to fit the  criteria for integrity. It is steadfastly sticking to the moral code; having the determination that whatever happens, we're going to be honest and full of wholeness.
Things that appear so simple can let us down. If we work in an office type environment, getting a new pen and pad from the stationery cabinet and then taking it home with us for personal use, is not far off stealing. Think about it. If we're using the pen and paper for work and take it home to carry on with the work, that is fine. However, using it to put a shopping list on it or a to do list, is not the right thing to do. Splitting hairs? I don't think so. Stealing is stealing and when I worked in an office, I must hold my hands up to this crime.

God sees all we do and hears all we say and also, knows every thought. When we 'eye up' the opposite sex and feel lust towards that person, He knows. We can't hide it from Him. He knows all. He longs for us to have wholesome thoughts and speak wholesome words but, boy, how difficult this can be at times. It takes dedication and hard work to meet this challenge, and even then we have to watch ourselves. He knows how tough it can be for us. He was in this world and walked around noticing the temptations that were around. However, He never fell for it. Do you?

We're not perfect. This is why the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 1:6, 'being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you, will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.' He knows our weaknesses. That doesn't mean we can do, say and think anything that we want to and we'll get away with it. Far from it. If we do this, we will still have to confess our sin to Him each day. However, what it does mean, 'don't beat yourself up when you blow it.' Try to better this next time. We have a Saviour who is our friend. However, He will not let us get away with things. He can be strict - very strict; and He means business. But He sympathises with our weakness and enjoys our efforts to break free from things that let us down. 
The final word? Don't give up - Look up.

I'd love to hear from you.  If this has spoke to you  dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com