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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion January 13, 2005 Integrity |
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FRONTLINE DEVOTION FOR Thursday, January 13, 2005 by
Fritz Foltz
Matthew
5:33-37
The family of a good friend has been selling fruit trees for generations. When
they began, they provided stock for the orchards in our small county.
Transactions in those days were fairly simple, because you lived with the people
with whom you did business. It soon became evident whom you could trust.
Last night my friend said business was more exciting than ever. They were now
selling trees all around the world. The Internet has made transactions possible
anywhere in this global economy. Of course, it also has brought its own
dilemmas. How do you know you can trust the party writing the email? All you
have is a written message. You can never be sure the writer is who he says he
is. In fact, you can never be sure if a “he” is not really a “she” or
even a machine, a computer.
Research finds that one out of four people using the Internet has lied
while using it. I was reporting that to a high school reading group about
a year ago. I remarked that they might find that hard to believe, because as
Christians they regarded the truth so highly. I was dead serious and not at all
ready for their laughter. After some merriment, I asked for a show of hands. All
but one of the maybe 25 kids had lied while using the Internet. One of the most
straight arrows of the group remarked, “It’s such fun. You can be anyone you
want.”
Although I enjoyed some moments of fun with the kids, I felt I had to make clear
truth is a high priority for Christians. Jesus smashes that home in today’s
passage. He tells his followers to refuse taking oaths that they are telling the
truth. They should have such integrity that everyone knows when they say,
“yes”, it is “yes” and when they say “no” it is “no”. Our word
is to be good in all our relationships. There are no lies among us.
Of course, this is one of those passages we choose to ignore in our day. Lying
and cheating have become ways of life not only online but also among friends,
even in the Church. This is acceptable when we pretend life is all about me. I
am expected to achieve my objectives in whatever manner it takes. Success is the
only standard.
At the same time, we know this won’t do. We all crave a caring community, and
we know there is no way we can have that unless we can trust one another.
Integrity has become a scarce quality, but we value it. When we find
integrity, we marvel.
Christians should be examples of integrity for the world. People should trust
us, because we are as good as our word. As you make your way through this day,
make sure your “yes” means “yes”. Provide an example of integrity for a
world searching for someone it can trust.
Let us pray: Grant us your Spirit, Lord, that, we might speak your message with
courage and all our words in truth. Grant us integrity in all we do, we pay in
Jesus’ name. Amen.
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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