Making the Right Choice

What does a life lived with integrity look like?

Having integrity means doing what we say we’ll do and doing the right thing even when it costs us something and no one would ever know if we didn’t do it.  It means being honest and not just talking a good line but living that out every day.
God tells us in Proverbs 10:9 “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.”

I’ve got to admit – there are times I really hate owning a mistake I made.  It would be so much simpler to tell a little lie and cover it up.
It seems easier to take a crooked path.
There are other situations where I don’t feel like taking care of a responsibility or doing ‘the right thing’. Maybe if I ignore it, it will go away.
It seems easier to take the crooked path.
Every once in a while taking a short-cut looks very enticing instead of struggling with all the work that is going to be involved to do something the right way.
It seems easier to take a crooked path.
Satan likes to tempt me by giving me free stuff at stores – things that were somehow never rung up so I didn’t pay for them. I hate the hassle of bringing these things back into the store and asking to pay for them. Satan knows I really don’t want to get back in line and then explain that I didn’t pay for this the first time. I hate the strange looks I get from employees who are wondering why I am doing this weird thing – I had it all the way out to my car without paying for it, I should be happy, right?
It’s definitely easier to take the crooked path – just put the item in my car and drive away.
But God tells me that the crooked path is dark with holes and cracks that will make me stumble and fall.  I’m kidding myself if I think people around me won’t realize that I lack integrity by sometimes choosing a crooked path. And I’m really kidding myself if I think God doesn’t know I took a crooked path.
God tells me the blessing of walking with integrity is that I will walk securely.  The path of integrity is straight and solidly built on the truth.  God’s light shines on this path and it is filled with his love, grace and security.
Each day, each choice, you and I have a decision to make about which path we’re going to take.
Please help us stay in the path of integrity, Abba Father