A Life of Integrity

Of late, I have learnt a lot of very painful but valuable lessons. One lesson that I have been grateful to learn is that of the importance of living with integrity.

Essentially, when I say "living with integrity" I am speaking about a life that is consistent both inside and out. As a Christian I am torn at times between my flesh and my spirit - what I know is right by faith and what I FEEL is right in my flesh. Naturally my flesh is also influenced by the outside world, by sin, and by emotions that are fuelled by pride. I confess there are times when my flesh wins, and those are the times i need to repent. But if I am living with integrity, my spirit wins over, nomatter how hard it is to listen to it.

I have been tested of late, and have really seen first hand how easy it is to fall into fleshly behaviour. When we do this as Christians, we lose our integrity. Others see this. They see me as a Christian speaking one thing and saying another. They see me encouraging young people to live right, but me living wrongly. So I have to be careful to match what I say and what God says to what I am doing. Thankfully of late, I have seen the benefits of this! Just recently my husband and I experienced for the first time together the effect of being wronged by someone who claims to be a fellow Christian. This is particularly hard for Brad, because he has never seen that kind of inconsistency before. But by keeping ourselves in check, and by doing the right and Christian thing, we are not only forgiving and keeping peaceful countenance with those who have wronged us but we are speaking volumes to those watching us. We've also discovered that our true friends have rallied around us at this time, encouraging us, lifting us up, and have known without a doubt that despite the lies spoken about us we have done everything we can and have loved us and have not lost their respect for us. I truly believe that if we had lashed back the way we wanted to, our close friends would have lost some of their respect for us - they would have seen us in a different light. My husband and I both had moments when we wanted nothing but pure revenge, and at those times we acted as peacemaker for eachother, encouraging eachother to stay true to what God would have us do, and to not sell out for pure emotion. Thats another thing I love about the lessons I've learnt, brad has learnt them too. There's something beautiful about being a Christian couple and discovering Godly principles together.

There is much wisdom to be had from God's word. I can personally testify that loving thy neighbour and blessing those who hurt you are HARD things to do, and sometimes near impossible, but NOTHING is impossible for God, and God has it all in hand, and when you DO the right thing, don't think that God doesnt notice. He does, and He brings others into your life to lift you up and fill the void of those who seek to pull u down. God is good, God is faithful, and His lessons are well worth the effort!