HONESTY (AND DISHONESTY): ROLE MODELS

 

A man named Naboth possessed a vineyard, which was close to Ahab’s palace. Ahab wanted to buy it to use as a vegetable garden, but Naboth refused to sell: Ahab became angry and sullen, refusing to eat, but at least his first impulse was to obey the law, however distasteful and frustrating this might have been.

However, Jezebel saw no need for him to sulk or be disappointed: ‘‘And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Arise eat bread and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the lezreelite ’’ (1 Kings 21:7). She devised a simple yet totally amoral solution.

She got two worthless men to publicly testify that Naboth had cursed both God and the king. – And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite to him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people saying,” Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones,” Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”

Jezebel succeeded in getting Naboth stoned to death. As soon as she heard the ‘‘good news,’’ she said to her husband, As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab,” arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead” (1 Kings 21:15)

Ornan offered David the threshing floor for free: Then Ornan said to David,” Take it, and let my lord the king do what seems good to him, ( 1Chro 21:23) But David insisted on paying full price despite the fact that as King he could easily have appropriated the property by executive fiat.

By comparison of both the cases - Too often, it seems honesty and integrity don’t pay off in the short term, whereas dishonesty and lack of integrity do.

How often have we heard sayings like ‘‘Do unto others before they can do unto you’’ or ‘‘No good deed will go unpunished’’? In the Bible, wrongdoers ultimately receive their proper consequences and virtuous people their just rewards, although not without a lot of needless suffering. If only people could be more honest from the beginning.

For instance, there’s the ancient case study of Pharaoh, whose lack of integrity rivals any modern leader. This absolute ruler of Egypt could not tolerate any threat to his power. To keep his Hebrew slaves and build his vast monuments to himself, he was willing to rain destruction and death on his own people. When he refused to let the Hebrews go, God visited ten progressively destructive plagues on the Egyptians, starting with frogs and moving to the killing of the firstborn.

Pharaoh relented, probably because his own son was one of those killed. The story of the Israelites’ hurried packing and exodus (resulting in the world’s fastest-baking bread, matzoh) is well known to Jews and Christians alike. And it’s a good thing that they were able to ‘‘bake and run’’ so quickly, because Pharaoh’s ‘‘integrity’’ lasted only a few days. He went back on his word and pursued the Hebrews into the desert.

We’re all familiar with what happened to Pharaoh’s men when they tried to pursue the Israelites across the dry bed of the Red Sea, which had been parted for the fugitives. Seas may part for people of honour and integrity, but they often rush back to drown those whose word means nothing to themselves or others.

One test of a leader’s integrity is his or her attitude toward ‘‘public’’ property.  Some leaders take it all with them; others refuse to take a penny of the funds with which they have been entrusted.

Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord . . . Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right. ‘‘You have not cheated or oppressed us,’’ they replied. ‘‘You have not taken anything from anyone’s hand.’’  (1 Sam. 12:1–4)

Now, how many of today’s business or political leaders would willingly open themselves up to such scrutiny?

This type of integrity runs throughout the Old and New Testaments. Consider the farewell speech of the disciple Paul to his followers:

I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions . . . They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. (Acts 20:32–37)

Is it any wonder that such a profession and display of integrity and honesty provoked such heartfelt loyalty from Paul’s followers, or that their grief was so great over the thought of losing him?

If you left your organization today, would your followers grieve so openly about losing you, and if they did, would any of their grief relate to losing a leader of integrity?

To be a successful person . . . you have to have integrity. Your word has to be everything you’ve got. You must have a moral compass. That’s especially true if you’re a leader because you’re exposed more. People will get a sense of you, and if you are not true . . . they’ll get a sense that you are sleazy

But leadership doesn’t always have to be on a grand scale or come from the very top, every transaction, no matter how large or small, should be conducted with integrity.

Luke 16:10: ‘‘Whoever is dishonest with little will be dishonest with much.’’

(Source :-  Lorin Woolfe Leadership)

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Honesty and Integrity

 
Honesty and Integrity

‘‘An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.’’ — —Proverb 24:26
‘‘Judge me, O Lord, according to my . . . integrity.’’ — 

Let the Lord judge the peoples. Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High. Psalm 7:8 
God’s honest truth. Actions that back up the words and words that are congruent with the actions. People of integrity and honesty. People we can trust. That’s what we look for in our leaders.

Honesty is the most frequently cited trait of a good leader.
It doesn’t matter how noble or worthwhile your cause; if you haven’t earned people’s trust by constantly keeping your word and being true to your values, people won’t follow you too far.

You may tell followers that despite the obstacles, the goal is achievable and that you will back them up 100 percent.

But if you have failed to lack a track record of trust and honesty, no one is going to line up to follow you.

Lately, managers and leaders across the world have often left us wanting in this key area.

If we see towards big leaders / Organizations in the world - Most of big leaders FAILED to deliver and convey the TRUTH among the followers / employees and which lead to BIG downfall for them. 

But, the leaders in the Bible were cut from a different cloth. Even when their visions seemed unrealistic, people followed them because of their integrity and honesty. 

The Bible is full of examples of individuals who kept their words despite incredible natural and human obstacles, and of leaders who risked loss of power, money, and even their lives to keep their integrity intact. 

Noah was selected and rewarded for his integrity; Lot was saved from the hellfire and ashes of Sodom and Gomorrah for his honesty.

Moses, who brought God’s warnings against lying, stealing, and coveting to his followers in dramatic fashion, was a man of great integrity himself.

The Ten Commandments are very explicit:
‘‘Thou shalt not steal.’’
‘‘Thou shalt not murder.’’
‘‘Thou shalt not give false testimony against thy neighbor.’’
‘‘Thou shalt not covet they neighbor's house . . . wife . . . manservant or maidservant . . . or anything belonging to thy neighbor.’’

That’s four commandments out of ten that deal directly with integrity and honesty.
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the other prophets, at great risk and with much unpopularity, warned an entire people when they were departing from their original precepts of truthfulness and morality.

Jesus Christ brought the message that ‘‘the truth shall set you free,’’ and he was willing to die for the truths he embodied.
And fortunately today we have been blessed with a number of modern business leaders who realize that without honesty and integrity, material ‘‘success’’ rings hollow indeed.
 
HONESTY (AND DISHONESTY): ROLE MODELS …….to be continued in next blog
(Source :-  Lorin Woolfe Leadership)

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Reason for our Existence

 

Reason for our Existence- we need to understand and know the answer of this question why do we exist?

Exist means have objective reality or being.

Purpose of this life is the meaning of our existence and without knowing this we often suffer ignorant of our own significance.

We fall prey to the illusion that our lives don't matter and we have no connection or impact on the world around us.

Please Turn with me 1Peter 2:9 - “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

We are the chosen one not the Ordinary one in fact we are a Chosen Generation.

And what the half verse is saying – “that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”

Think once after seeing all our actions, behaviors and our life styles – 

Are we really deserve this.

Try to understand this – Please turn with me Acts 2:23 - This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

Let’s have a look to first Man –Adam

According to Genesis 1:26 - Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Father created Adam for Himself—for His own glory, not man’s glory.

Scripture says, “God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”

The Lord could not have complimented us more than to make us like Himself. Humanity is the crown of God’s creation.

We need to recognize, therefore, that we were made for God and in His likeness so we can understand the reason for our existence.

What pleases a human worldly father more than to hear, “that boy looks just like you; he even acts like you”? 

So imagine If we would full fill our eternal purpose from our lives to honour the Lord and reflect His glory. Our God takes pleasure in spiritual sons who reflect His character.

1. Glory Spreaders

First and fundamentally, to image God means in our most human selves, we are spreaders

“The point of being created in the image of God is that human beings are destined to display God.

2. Marble (Likeness)

So if God made us, in his image, it means clearly: God is the reality and we are the image. Images are created to set forth the reality.

3. Mirrors (Reflective)

So I being created in the image of God means that we are image of God. We reflect God. We live in a way, we think in a way, we feel in a way, we speak in a way that calls attention to the brightness of the glory of God.

4. Finally Why Do I Exist?

For us to live out this purpose of our redeemed life (as per (Romans 10:9)) our lives to shine with the glory of God, our self-centered sin must be overcome. That is what God is doing by his Spirit. We are being changed into the image of Christ. 

(2 Corinthians 4:4; Colossians 1:15; 3:10; Romans 8:29)

May God Bless You.  

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Thanks Giving !

 An ongoing process of our lives..

1 Thessalonians 5:18 -give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Thanksgiving is an essential element of worship, elevating our affection for God.

1 Chronicles 16:34- Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Gratitude keeps our focus on God and His goodness, rather than on our own problems.

When we are feeling down, it is easy to get caught up in our own pain and forget all the good things that God has done for us.

But when we take the time to express our gratitude to God, our mind set shifts and our hearts are filled with joy.

That's why the Paul says in Philippians 4:6-7 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Thanksgiving is the key word here. Giving thanks forces us to take our minds off, of those things that are causing anxiety (anxiety - Anxiety is a feeling of fear, dread, and uneasiness. It might cause you to sweat, feel restless and tense, and have a rapid heartbeat. It can be a normal reaction to stress.)

And other way round recounting our blessings of God helps us to focus on how we have experienced God's goodness which brings peace and contentment.

The Bible isn't the only advocate for giving thanks. Research has shown that gratitude can lead to increased levels of happiness and satisfaction with life.

How does a focus on gratitude impact mental health? 

Research shows it can reduce stress and improve physical and mental health.

“…. many studies over the past decade have found that people who consciously count their blessings tend to be happier and less depressed….”.

In a study report of Harvard Health found that - 

“one group wrote about things they were grateful for that had occurred during the week.

A second group wrote about daily irritations or things that had displeased them,

And the third wrote about events that had affected them (with no emphasis on them being positive or negative)

After 10 weeks-

Those who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic and felt better about their lives. Surprisingly, they also exercised more and had fewer visits to physicians than those who focused on sources of aggravation.”

“There’s a growing body of research on the benefits of gratitude. Studies have found that giving thanks and counting blessings can help people sleep better, lower stress and improve interpersonal relationships.

Psalm 7:1 - Lord my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me, 

Psalm 107:1 - Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Ephesians 5:20 - always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Very Important - Colossians 3:15-17 - Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters, this is a important and mandatory TO GIVE THANKS to Lord no matter what the situation is and how our life is moving a head... but ne thing is very much sure that GOD IS PROTECTING YOU AND HOLDING your hand.

May God Bless You.  

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My Temptation

My Temptation!

This temptation can works both ways and we need to understand in our lives whether we are on right temptation or wrong temptation.

Please turn with me Gen 2:15-16 - The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;

Here God put Man in garden of Eden to work it and keep it and also commanded that Do not eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, the day you will eat of it you shall surely die.

And then God Created Women if we look the verses from 

Gen. 2:18-22-The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. 22Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 

I want to bring the light on one point which is our hidden temptations -

As a human, we always attracted towards those things, which we don’t have or don't have in our authority.

And this is most weak point of our lives.

When serpent said to the woman in Verse Gen 3:1 - Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

    But woman replied to serpent in Gen.3:2-3- The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”

Here in verse 3 we can see the Purity of her soul and how much she is in Obedience with God. 

We also behave in very much same manner. - We go to Church, we attend the worship and have fellowship. 

We do remain in very much in that Obedience or glimpse of that impact which we receive from Word of God.

But the moment we enter in to the world and start listening to that serpent ….he always used to say that----

 “YOU WILL NOT SURELY DIE” 

Gen.3:4- “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 

In fact he uses our Faith to destroy us.

what he says Gen.3:5- “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

And this point of time we just lost our selves.

I will not mention here what are the temptations we are surrounded but we all know. 

Be very much ALERT and CONSCIOUS about your surrounding and fellowship towards your TEMPTATIONS.

And we forget that God has already made us in His own image now there is no other thing or process or fruit or wisdom need to have to be like HIM as verse -

Gen 1:27 says - So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Temptations look so beautiful that we can not stop our selves to go there -

Gen. 3:6-  When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

And what had happen after this ... we all know.

But still our God is so good and merciful and Faithful that after this He gave us the way to come out from that sin.

1Corinthians 10:13 - No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

Man has a free choice of being faithful or unfaithful to God'. 

Even satan encouraged Jesus to deviate from the plan of his father by misusing his authority and privileges. Jesus used the Holy Scripture to resist all such temptation.

I will encourage all of us through word of God.

Romans 13:13–14 - Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

Romans12:21- Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

1Corinthians15:33- Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’

My dear brothers and sisters, this is the time to understand your TEMPTATIONS and overcome with the STRENGTH of HOLY SPIRIT, God will surely help you in this.

May God Bless You. 

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