Dan Berry (ArtistOfWords) Online

Spiritual Integrity

The other day I found myself driving down the highway. The speed limit was set at 65 mph on the road and I continued on at this speed. My big green van puttered down the highway and I was making great time.

Just ahead though, I seen a new sign along with a radar that showed my current mph. It was posted 55 mph through what quickly became a construction area of roughly 10 miles.

Dutifully, I slowed my vehicle and just in time, as it began to shudder on the uneven road. As I slowly decreased in speed to match the new zoned limit, the van again began to allow a smooth transit.

I thought to myself, it's probably a good thing that the rate of speed had dropped because it wouldn't have been safe to continue in that area at the old rate of speed.

I reasoned that sometimes rules and laws are set to protect us from the damage that may be caused if we continued doing what we do in an unsafe way.

Just then the oncoming traffic began whipping around me rapidly. Horns blared, close passes with other vehicles occurred, and gestures from drivers were a bit less than Christ-like as we were funneled into a single lane of traffic.

The cars in front of me sped away at a much higher speed than I was traveling and those behind me continued to travel along with my van being sort of a pace setter.

Before I knew it, I began to think thoughts about how inconvenient this new rule was. It began to bother me that it was holding me back from getting home at the time I thought I should be home.

I noticed that nothing was slowing down the cars ahead of me. As I continued thinking on what a hassle going 55 mph was my foot found the gas pedal and I increased in speed.

Workers stared on from the side of the road as my van sped along, occasionally shaking me on the uneven road. I eventually caught up with traffic and was quite proud of the time I had made up for.

Just then a line of vehicles in front began braking rapidly. Was there an accident? No. Why slow down then...was the road blocked? No. A highway patrolman was parked at the end of the construction zone with a radar likely aimed our way to see if we obeyed the law.

Traffic slowed dramatically until we had collectively passed him by and put his memory in our rear view mirrors. Once he was out of sight, the traffic jumped right back to an increased rate of speed, despite the state of the highway.

It was at this point that I was reminded of how speeding on the highway in dangerous areas is similar to our daily walk with Christ. We often find inconveniences and things we see as a hassle as a people.

We speak, act, and react in many situations that are less than ideal for a people who are set apart for God's purposes. Of course, I don't believe any of us intend to be disobedient or rebellious; it's just that we think we know a better way many times.

We often choose shortcuts when we think nobody is watching. We display a lack of spiritual integrity as we act and do what we ought not to do for purposes we often do not understand ourselves.

If only someone would be watching us, many times we would not dare to act in some of the ungodly manners that the world encourages to be commonplace in our lives.

Sadly, your pastor, brother, sister, or accountability partner are not always there to reign you in and so we speed up to be going at the same rate of speed as the world around us.

We keep going until we are forced to slow down by a divine appointment, usually set to call our actions to the fore of our minds. We likely slow at that point but not to the point of being able to travel life at the rate of speed God sets for us.

What we ought to remember though, is that like the old saying "All roads lead to Rome", all roads also lead to God. The only difference is the end destination once we see Him.

James 1:19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

This selection of scripture gives us a clear idea of what our course in life should be. We ought to be about our business for God and take His love seriously and not take it for granted.

Now we can diligently seek Christ or we can make a show of doing so while doing our own thing for the world; but we can't do both. There is consequence for choices.

Mathew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’

23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

It's high time that we instill in ourselves and encourage in our friends, family, and neighbors a bit of spiritual integrity. What we do in private we should do as if the whole world is watching.

The God who holds the whole world in his hands is certainly watching our choices. Will you watch for him?