The devotional I read in today's Men of Integrity was a good one. The key verse: Those who … keep their promises even when it hurts … such people will stand firm forever (Psalm 15:4, 5).
It tells the story of a boy who got a chance to play in a prestigious little league baseball team. However, to do so would have required him to break his word. What to do?
Yesterday's was good, also. Probably something most if not all parents have wrestled with:
While in line for tickets at a theme park, I suddenly realized, "I'm a liar and I'm teaching my children to lie." That horrible moment of realization came shortly after I told my 11-year-old daughter, "If they ask, tell them you're 10."
It wasn't a huge lie. People do it all the time. It was easily rationalized: She wasn't tall enough to ride all the rides, so we shouldn't have to pay full price for her ticket. Those parks are ridiculously overpriced anyway. And besides, if they cared enough, they'd be more scrupulous about checking age.
Those excuses flooded in but were stopped in an instant by a simple fact: I was being dishonest. Worse, I was modeling dishonesty to my child, and even dragging her into it. Hardly worth a $20 difference in the price of a ticket!
I wish I could say that I pass every test of integrity I encounter, but I don't. Still, we'll pass a lot more of those tests if we (a) acknowledge it is the right thing to do, (b) don't accept excuses to fudge from ourselves or others, and (c) encourage one another toward integrity.
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