“Instead,
speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the
Head.” Eph. 4:15 NIV
Solomon said that a good name was better
than great wealth. An old adage is “Poor and honest is better than rich and
deceitful”. There is nothing wrong in
having a sense of pride in one’s integrity. With it comes the wealth of self
respect. That doesn’t mean arrogance or hypocritical pride; it simply means that
we are glad that others know they can count on our ethical values.
Bearing false witness is slandering the good
name of others. Why would someone do such a thing? They may be trying to
deflect the blame that rightly belongs on them. They may be trying to get ahead
by putting someone else behind. They may just be malicious gossips. Whatever
the reason, we must always make sure we are not the ones doing it. God has not called us to climb the ladder of
success on the back of others. He has not called us to be idle gossips that
pass along the dirt on others. He has called us to love our neighbor. While we
want our integrity to be valued we must always remember to not mar the
integrity of others.
Our
Lord and God, We thank you for giving us clean consciences; help us keep the
names of others clean as well. Amen.
The Friday Benediction
Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop
you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in
the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be
enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend. Amen
You can
contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net
You may also
find some of my selected daily devotions at http://blog.febc.org/
You may also
enjoy the Gospel dog blog, “The Gospel According to Molly”, and the Alzheimer’s
blog, “Taking Care of Joe” both found on my website.
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