3 Lessons from the MLB All Star Game

Last night, I watched, in amazement, the Major League All Star Game.  I learned some valuable lessons by watching Mariano Rivera enter into his office, the pitcher’s mound, in the 8th inning.  In fact, I rewound it and watched it a second time with my son.  Mariano Rivera is retiring from the game after 19 years in the major leagues.  I remember when he started playing.  He came into the New York Yankees organization as a set up man for their then closer, John Wetteland.  Now, when he enters a game, the song “Enter Sandman” blares from the stadium speakers as his job is to put the other team’s batters to sleep by getting them out and ending the game.  He has over 600 saves credited to his account in the major leagues.  Awesome!

Now I am not a New York Yankees fan by any means or stretch of the imagination.  I am a Boston Red Sox fan and of course, Texas Rangers fan.  But what I witnessed last night was a champion entering his last Major League All Star Game ever.  He will be a Hall of Fame inductee without question.  However, what I was able to teach my son last night through the game of baseball was even greater than his last game.  You see, Mariano Rivera is one of the most respected players in the major leagues.  In fact, the person that he is caused his peers to do and exemplify some amazing character traits that each of them have at a time when the world wants each of them to scream, “Hey, look at me!”  They screamed, “Hey!  Look at Him!”

You see, both the American League team and the National League team stayed in the dugout and it was just Mariano Rivera and the catcher out there to warm up.  Not even the position players took the field.  Those players taught a me some valuable lessons and gave me opportunity to teach my son.

3 Lessons that I Learned from the All Star Game.

1. Respect those Who have gone before you.
2. Honor those who deserve honor.
3. Humility is best worn when Pride is desired.

Those players paid tribute to a man who has gone before them and set a benchmark in the game.  They honored him by staying in the dugout to give him the big stage.  And in a day and age where humility is left for those who are usually never seen, they set aside their pride and wore the uniform of humility to show honor and respect.

Who has gone before you that is worthy of honor and respect?

What is stopping you from showing them?

How can you set aside your pride and wear the uniform of humility to show that person or persons respect and honor?

It is only fitting that I close this writing, in honor of Mariano Rivera by saying,

GO SOX!

He would appreciate it!

The Plan for Success

Ah yes…the ever elusive word that drives millions of people to rise from their sleep every day and try to attain goals that are somewhat out of reach at the moment, but then find themselves only moving those goals to take them to higher places than were previously desired and thought of as the pinnacle of life…that word…SUCCESS!

Let’s face it…no one wants to be labeled a failure or loser.  That is evident in our Youth Sports Programs where everyone gets a medal.  I mean, when I was a kid, I was S-L-O-W!  In fact, my coaches didn’t use a stopwatch to time me, they used a calendar!  I remember field day at school…I always seemed to come home with a 1st place ribbon for tug of war, but I hated races!  Why?  I wasn’t successful at them.  It almost seemed like our field days had one strength related event vs. 10 speed events.  Don’t feel sorry for me, for the first 10 yards I was as fast as anyone else, but it always seemed that me and at least one girl would always duke it out for…ummm…last. That was usually the one who recovered from the trampling of the speedy kids.  I get a picture in my mind like this…

So, what did I come home with?  A handful of “Thanks for participating” ribbons.  You know, the dreaded purple ribbon.

I had been force-fed a definition of success that gave value to me as a human being through a piece of nylon with a rope!  I bought in to it too!  While competition and athletics have been a part of my life since I was a kid, as I have grown, I have seen those ribbons replaced with many different things.  Titles, positions, promotions, raises, corner offices, you name it.  There are ways that people today find value in themselves through the awards they attain or credentials bestowed upon them.  They mistakenly cheapen success by defining it by getting to do what THEY want, when THEY want, how THEY want.  In fact, it sounds a lot like a bad infomercial like this…

I am sure that Tony Robbins has helped a lot of people get back on track, but I am more confident in God from whom all blessings come from.  I am not knocking those things, I am simply pointing out that what took place on field day certainly prepared us for later on in life…except…there are no more participation ribbons!  Thank you Jesus!!

One of the wisest men that ever lived was King Solomon.  He wrote a book of Wisdom for his son.  It is found as one of 66 books found in the Bible called Proverbs.  There are 31 chapters in Proverbs.  I like to use them one chapter for each day of the month.  I want to show you how one of the wisest men that ever lived viewed success.  He spelled out the plan for success for his son and ultimately each of us.  In Proverbs 16:2-3, Solomon’s plan reads like this,

“2People may be pure in their own eyes, but the Lord examines their motives.  3Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.”

Most of the time, people feel their motives are pure.  However, God knows the motives of our heart.  When personal plans are made committing them to God leads to a successful fulfillment of those plans.  Motives of the heart are understood by God even though we may think ourselves pure and right before Him.  The physical, mental, emotional and spiritual act of committing all we do to the Lord will determine your success or failure.

I had to come to the realization that I can do nothing apart from God.  My plans need to be committed to Him to ensure success.  Success is not for me, per se.  Although I get to experience the fruit of success and the blessings of success, my true success is for God’s glory through my plans being committed to Him.  He is the one that gets the 1st Place Ribbon…I get the blessing of being His son.  He gets the glory, I get the earthly benefit of blessings.

Who or what has 1st Place in your life?

What drives you in your pursuit of success?

How do you define success?

Have you committed your plans to God?

What are the motives of your heart?

Omnipotent Boss

I love the CBS television show, Undercover Boss!  In fact, while I was in Richardson, TX, I found myself eating at a local restaurant just across the street from an immigrant to the United States from Russia.  He was on Undercover Boss working for 7-Eleven as a delivery driver with the hopes of one day owning his own convenience store.  As the show progressed and he took his “trainee” out for deliveries, he corrected, taught, instilled trust between the workers in order to do the best job for the company he could possibly do.  Little did he know that this “trainee” was the CEO of 7-Eleven.  You can read the Dallas Morning News article about Igor Finkler and his experience on Undercover Boss here.

I love this story!  In fact, when I walked across the street to the store to see if I could meet Igor, the worker’s said, “Go ahead, he is around the corner in the office…he would love to meet you.”  That day, I met the man who is living his dream.  One thing that Igor said that stuck with me that day was this, “I am a nobody that worked hard.  My work somehow got noticed and now I am living my dream.”  He then said, “I would rather push a broom sweeping up the worst filth in the United States of America than be a dignitary in my former country.”  Wow!  What a powerful set of statements he shared!  The CEO of 7-Eleven changed Igor’s life!  Igor was given his own franchise in one of the busiest areas of Richardson, TX.  I guess it does pay to sweat the small stuff!

Luke, the physician/disciple of Jesus, describes Igor’s journey this way in Luke 16:10,

If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones.  But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater things.

I love this!  Why?  Because faithful, trustworthy handling of small things builds trust with the person that is asking you to take responsibility for them and handle the issues they want completed.  It is character building.  It creates an ethic of dependability in and individual.  Once trust is gained and dependability built, larger assignments can be given and trusted to be completed.  However, the converse is also true.  If dishonesty, unfaithfulness and being undependable are evident, then greater assignments will not come.

I remember when I first went to a bank to get my first loan.  I went with my grandfather and my dad.  We walked in to the bank and I asked for my first loan of $1000.  There was one piece of paper that I filled out.  What was interesting about this paper was it just had my name and the amount.  It was and IOU!  I didn’t even have a place to sign it.  The deal was sealed with a question from the banker about repaying the amount and a handshake.  That was it!

People need to return to a lifestyle of honor and being people of their word.  Faithfulness is being true to your word and following through with what you say you will do.  When I am trusted to do the small things and have proven myself trustworthy, then larger responsibilities come my way.  I paid back the loan in full, early!  What was the beginning of my credit history, with the $1000 loan, now has helped me to buy cars, houses and even start my own business.  These things come from God.  These larger things may show up on your job, community, family or other unseen ways.  But, they are the result of being found faithful by the Omnipotent Boss.  Now for the bad news…the opposite of this is true as well.  If I would have been found to be untrue to my word with that $1000 loan, then I would have had a different path to redemption to take.  Trust would have been abated and I would have been stuck in my own consequences of dishonesty.

My prayer is the God continues to find me faithful and keeps his hand on my life…what about you?

What are some of the little things that God entrusted you with?

How did you handle those things…faithfully or dishonestly?

What larger things are you currently handling now?  

Is the ethic of dependability on display or are you being caught in the trap of dishonesty?

Integrity Elevates Everyone!

Growing up in Bossier City, LA, there was one thing that my particular High School was always good at…baseball!  I loved playing for Coach Bohanon and Coach Belle.  They were both characters in their own rights.  Coach Bohanon doubled as my Free Enterprise teacher and was famous for teaching with a local NW Louisiana/East Texas flair for storytelling.  He talked about taking your “darlin’ down to the picture show and trying to impress her by buying her some kernels and bellywash.”  Coach Belle had a penchant for verbal gymnastics as well.  He could do a one and a half twisting Tsukahara in making a point like none other.  He would drop bombs of wisdom like, “He who hesitates is lost!” and “Quit standing around with your thumb up your butt!”  Man…the lasting impressions…the wisdom dripping from those lips that impacted young lives.  We lived for baseball season!

Maybe its “Good Old Day Syndrome” or maybe its more than that, but my coaches always taught us integrity for us as individuals, as a team and as a responsibility to our community.  People depended on our personal integrity.  When we gave our best, it raised the level of us, our team and those who came out to support us.  We would run the steps of the football stadium and then cut across the end zone to the other side of the bleachers and would constantly hear, “Don’t lolly-gag over there, you are cheating yourself at getting better, you are cheating your team and everyone that watches you play!”

I love how King Solomon says it in Proverbs 11:11,

Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper, but the wicked tears it apart.”

Solomon was the Coach Bohanon and Coach Belle before they ever dreamed of dropping vitamins of wisdom.  However, they knew what integrity meant.  They believed in integrity!  They taught us integrity!  They taught us leadership!  You see, you have to be able to lead yourself before you can ever dream of leading others.  That starts at living a life that takes no shortcuts.  Upright people are people who are honest, righteous and fear God.  These types of people are good for a city, team, or business.  Why?  They make it prosperous because others know that they have taken no shortcuts or have not gained through dishonest measures.  A team that is out for themselves, or as Solomon calls them, wicked, have no unity.  They destroy themselves from the inside.  It causes murmurs in the stands, board room or in the neighborhood.  Wickedness, shortcuts, dishonesty, or lack of integrity all give a place to tear apart and divide.

So, what do we do?  Live a life of integrity!  It honors God, it prospers your family and your community.  Be counted as an asset to your team, family and those around you by your integrity.  Live a life where your values match your actions!  When you lose your integrity, you lose!  Let your integrity speak for itself!  Let it elevate you, your family, your team, your business and your community.

In what ways can you live a life of integrity? At home?  At work?  At play?

Can you identify shortcuts you have been taking that are hurting you, your family and your team?

How can you begin to let your integrity elevate everyone?

Torqued by Tension

“Living with integrity means: Not settling for less than what you know you deserve in your relationships. Asking for what you want and need from others. Speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension. Behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values. Making choices based on what you believe, and not what others believe.” – Barbara DeAngelis

I know what you are thinking…”It has been a long time since you have blogged.”  Yes, that is true!  I have been on a little hiatus from the blogosphere.  But guess what…I am back!  I could hold my silence no longer.  One thing that has been recurring in my world is tension.  It started when I developed some patellar tendonitis from running.  Some would say, “Just stop running and that won’t happen.”  Well, truth is, running releases endorphins and those are addictive and seem to make my days go better…in other words, I run so I don’t kill people. 🙂

I started going to Southfork Chirosport in Murphy, TX.  At this Chiropractic office things are different.  They don’t just crack your back and take your copay then usher you out the door.  I think my shortest visit has been about 1:15 minutes.  They really listen and get to the source of the problem.  The view here is that muscular tension is what causes torque and thus pain in the body.  So, they deal with the muscle.  And with the muscle they deal in great detail! Dr. Dukes says that the reason that tendons get into a bind is due to two muscles pulling in opposite directions…therefore…tension is at the crux!

As I began to think about this and how my running life was torqued by tension…ah, like how I worked the title into the paragraph…I am finding that more and more people are being influenced by tension in their relationships.  This seems to have cropped up time and again.  It doesn’t matter if it is in a marriage, friendship, family or job.  Tension seems to always creep its way into our lives.  I mean, just look at the Obamacare situation in this country…talk about tension!

I find tension pretty regularly throughout the Bible.  I mean, the Garden of Eden, the Israelites and Pharaoh, Jesus Christ and His entire life…it even comes in letters written by Paul to the different Churches…nothing like a grand helping of church tension.  However, tension has one of two responses I want to give you today.

1.  It makes you stronger!

When you face tension, especially in your muscles, a healthy dose of physical therapy will usually help relieve the tension.  The trick here is not taking some kind of medication that will mask the tension and make you think it isn’t there.  You are going to have to embrace the pain!  Embrace it!  The Book of James tells us to “count it all joy when we face trials…”  In other words…face it!  Deal with it and practice the spiritual gift of keeping your mouth shut!  Especially when you are dealing with the tension of relationships.  Remember, your words are powerful.  I have heard it said the our words are like nitroglycerin…they can blow up bridges or heal hearts!

When you face your tension, especially physiologically, it makes you stronger!  You have rehabbed those muscles by strengthening and stretching them which is something they have not been used to doing.

2.  It makes you weaker!

Sometimes getting stronger can make us become a little judgmental.  Be aware of what you are doing that can come across as being condescending.  Don’t look down on anyone, instead, look up as you lift them on your shoulders to help them reach heights they have never achieved.

If love keeps no records of wrongs like it says in 1 Corinthians 13, then why do we hold grudges when we are supposed to love our neighbors as ourselves?  It is my opinion that when we condescend to others, then tension causes us to become weaker.  It makes us hurt and eventually something will be torn.  When you tear a muscle or tendon or ligament not only does it hurt, but it makes you weaker and you have to go to the therapy route anyway.

I really like the picture above.  Which leads to my questions for the day…

1.  Who are you?  What defines you?  Are you lifting people on your shoulders or trampling them with your foot words?

2.  Where is the tension in your life right now?  What therapy are you engaged in practicing to get it worked out?  Are you facing it or taking something to mask the symptoms?

The Memory Challenge

Have you ever laid down in your bed to go to sleep and immediately felt like it was the first time you have laid down in the last two weeks?  I love that feeling!  You know, when it seems like your whole body exhales all of the tension and pent up cares of the day to day regimen that we tend to try to keep up with.  It is almost like we are really…wait for it…wait for it…relaxing!  I have one of those Tempur Pedic memory foam mattresses…the kind they supposedly use on the space shuttle or somesuch.  Anyway, I love my mattress!  It always goes back into perfect shape unlike those mattresses of lesser quality…er…you know what I mean.  Okay, I am a mattress snob now.  The great thing about my mattress is that when I get into bed at night, the mattress forms to my body and takes all the pressure off the necessary points that need relief.  As I was thinking about this memory foam mattress, of course while lying down on it, I began to think about my son, Cole.  He has been on a personal quest as of late.  He has been personally challenged to read the Bible and learn Scripture.  I guess, the eye-opening moment was a few weeks ago when I asked him if he knew what John 3:16 said.  Most of you know it…

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.”

This was the most googled verse this past football season thanks to one Tim Tebow.  Cole is 10 years old and had no clue as to what it said.  I was stunned.  Here I am, the former Pastor of a church and ministry leader and my own son doesn’t know John 3:16.  It was at that moment, I made a decision to show Cole, as well as my other kids, the importance of memorizing Scripture.  Their school motto is derived from the Golden Rule which is found in Matthew 7:12 where it says,

“…Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Of course, they think I have some kind of special Pastor powers that helps me to have the entire Bible memorized…and in case you don’t believe it…

thats good…because I don’t.  It actually takes memory work to commit Scripture to memory.  Yes, I actually have to repeat it over and over again.  I know, why do we need to memorize Scripture when we can just read it?  Well, the best answer that I can give is found in Scripture…one of my favorite passages, by the way…found in Psalm 119:9-11,

⁹ How can a young person stay on the path of purity?    By living according to your word. ¹⁰ I seek you with all my heart;    do not let me stray from your commands. ¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

So, we hide God’s Word in our heart so we will not sin against Him…makes sense, huh?

Well, back to my story…Cole now takes his Bible to school with him and sits it on his desk.  When he has free time or reading time, he reads his Bible and works on memorizing Scripture for the sole purpose of playing “stump the daddy/Pastor” when he gets home.  I kind of like it!  He always gets me but also gets to share what he read throughout his day.

With that, I issue you the challenge…there are 12 months in one year…(learned that the other day)…will you take the challenge of memorizing a Scripture a month and hiding that Word in your heart?  It will help you in more ways than you think…because when your kids don’t know John 3:16…you get a grandkid with a dog collar…don’t have a grandkid with a dog collar

1 John 1:7 says,

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all^[a] sin.

Will you take the challenge?

What will be the first verse you will start memorizing?

Like memory foam shapes to your body, will you let Scripture shape your soul?

Sticks and Stones

We have all heard this old playground saying as kids…we may have even teamed up with other people to say it together in cadence…come on, everyone now…

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!

This couldn’t be further from the truth.  The fact is that words do hurt…whether we like to admit it or not.  I was never a small kid.  Big surprise there.  However, my size always seemed to be a target of the other kids.  I would hear things like, “You are FAT!” My defense mechanism for these statements, besides the sticks and stones saying, was humor.  I would quickly shoot back, “Yeah, but you are ugly and I can lose weight.”  or  the old great standby of “shut up or else!”  I wasn’t a bully…in fact, I really only wanted to get along with everyone.

In his book An Enemy Called Average, John Mason penned the title of one of the installments “Words are Like Nitroglycerin…they can blow up bridges or heal hearts.”  This is one of my favorite books!  What a powerful statement that sums up the power of our words.  What we say has impact!  I use the word impact because they collide with someone else and their receptors and how those words are processed.  Today, texting and email have all but eliminated the tone in our conversations.  As much as we want to have relationships and are created to have relationship with other people, we just don’t want face time with those people.  A lot of people say it is more convenient, however, I want to throw this out…it is because a lot of people have been hurt by words of those who were careless with their words.

Words are powerful…in fact, the Bible says in Proverbs 18:21,

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

The Bible goes on to say in Proverbs 12:18,

There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

There it is…blowing up bridges or healing hearts!

A word of warning…what is in your heart comes out of your mouth.  I have heard it said this way too, “The face of a child can say it all…especially the MOUTH part of the face.”

Just like Ralphie, in a Christmas Story, was held accountable for his words, so will we be held accountable for ours.  Matthew 12:36 says,

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,

Choose your words…let them be words of encouragement and healing…

If you are nitroglycerin, do your words blow up others or heal them?

Have you offended or hurt someone by your words?  Go to them and make things right between you and that person.

Has someone offended you or hurt you with their words?  Have they disrespected you in public?  Maybe it is time to let that go and do as Christ has done for each of us…forgive.

I pray that each of you reading would take this to heart and really focus on what we say…because it gives real insight to the things in our heart that may need to be dug out and cast off or shown to be a source of inspiring greatness in others.  May God grow you!

Joe Paterno, Integrity and “Not So” Happy Valley

I sit in utter shock, disbelief, disappointment, judgement, and prayer.  As the news of the last couple of days continues to unfold about Joe Paterno, Jerry Sandusky and those involved in this horribly disgusting events, I have learned a couple of truths that I want to share today.  Merely truths that I have discovered for my life and maybe through all this, you can also take them to heart so that you can avoid some of the major heartbreak that is taking place at State College, PA.

Joe Paterno, the patriarch of College Football…known as a hard worker, blue collar coach, and philanthropist.  He practically built the Library at Penn State from his and his wife’s personal donations.  He was a rock, a source of stability in a world of constant flux in the college years.  Kids dreamed of playing for JoPa and wearing the black and white.  The uniforms were by today’s standards…boring…but that is not how they were viewed by those faithful to PSU…they were classic, solid, traditional, or reflective of the attitude of Penn State.  Joe Paterno built a history and wanted to go out and leave a legacy.  409 wins as a coach…the most wins by a Division 1 coach in history.

At our house, my kids have been drilled with the Bible verse found in 1 Corinthians 15:33 where the Apostle Paul penned the words,

“Do not be misled; bad company corrupts good morals.”

I try to teach them that the people they surround themselves with will either raise you to the next level or bring you down to theirs.  The key to this Scripture isn’t the second part…rather it is the first.  Do not be misled…that is the key.  They get so tired of hearing this, but one day, it will be a filter for them when they become adults.

There are a couple of things that I have learned from this whole tragedy at Penn State University that I want to share with you today…

1.  You can spend your whole life building a legacy and heritage that other people envy that can all be destroyed with one act of your associations.  Integrity is still one of the cornerstones of an individual’s life…it is the one thing that you you either can hang your hat or can destroy your legacy.

What is your legacy saying right now?  Are you putting yourself in the path for destruction?

Proverbs 28:18 says,

“Whoever walks in integrity will be  delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.”

Sadly, we have all been witnesses to this in the past couple of days.

2.  This type of situation with coaches, athletes and their families are the exact reason that I am called to the ministry that I am currently serving in with Game Changers. 

Today, more than ever, people need to know the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Our world is dark, and unless Christians begin to be the light to the world outside of the church walls and shine…it will become darker.

I have heard it said, “All it takes for sin to abound is for good men and women to remain silent.”  I have a different version…”All it takes for our world to become darker is for followers of Christ not to shine the light of Truth.”

Jesus Christ can be your Game Changer…He can set you free from your sin and the things that you find yourself entangled in…He loves you!  He wants what is best for you!  Will you let him turn the momentum in your life?

Will you let your light shine?

What is your responsibility to our world?

How can you leave a legacy that won’t be tainted?

 

Protect This House!

A few years back, Under Armour took the sports world by storm!  They entered into the athletic clothing arena and overtook their competition.  They revolutionized the athletic clothing industry.  They were Game Changers!  Now, from youth sports teams to professional athletes, the Under Armour X logo can be seen on thousands of people.  With coming in to the arena of sports, there is one way to climb to the top…DESTROY YOUR COMPETITION! This is exactly what they did.  They had a marketing campaign that was second to none.  Their tag line…We must protect this house!  They had muscle ripped athletes wearing their product and giving inspirational speeches, pumping up their team and ultimately ending with their famed slogan!

The interesting thing about this marketing campaign was they contracted a NFL player named Eric Ogbogu who had played with the Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals at some time.  He was not a star player in the NFL.  Now, don’t get me wrong…he was in the league!  He wasn’t the one that would be in the center of the huddle pumping up his teammates before a game a la Drew Brees, like he did on the commercials.  He was a spokesman for the team and actually took a bit of flack from his teammates.  On the commercials, he had the appearance of the person that was the team leader.

Some athletes can “talk” a great game and by the Under Armour marketing campaign, you would never know any of those players abilities on the field or their skills.  I began to think about this in our relationship with Christ and our service to Him.  Over 85% of Americans profess to be Christian.  If there is one thing that we can learn from this commercial…one moral to the story, I believe it is this.

NOT EVERYONE WHO TALKS ABOUT HEAVEN BELONGS TO GOD’S KINGDOM.

Matthew 7:21 says, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.”

Now, hold on, this isn’t the Fear Factor…What I am trying to say to you today is that I believe that Jesus is more concerned about your walk with Him than our talk about Him.  He wants us to do right, not just say the right words.

The Pharisees would pray these long prayers and do these things to be seen by men.  They were all flash.  They were concerned about others perception of them.  Matthew 15:8 states this,

“These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

This is an incredible statement that summarized the actions of the Pharisees.  I would hate to have that said about me.  Your “house” (which is your life) will withstand the storms of life only if you DO what is right instead of just talking about it.  What you cannot do is be separated from what you believe.  YOU MUST PROTECT YOUR HOUSE!

Where is your heart?  Is it close or is it far from God?

What can you do today to make your actions and words align?

What are some steps you can take to protect you and your family’s house?

The Road to Integrity

I love it when people lie to me!  Don’t you?  I mean, out and out lied to…come on, I have a sign up list waiting for all of you who are ready to be lied to.  Some of you may have had someone you consider to be close to you lie to you in the past.  Guess what…it hurts!  It makes you mad!  It really stinks!  However, today, people have come to expect others to lie to them and, to some extent, become comfortably numb to it. Sorry for the Pink Floyd lyrical reference…but I digress.  Whatever happened to telling the truth?  I thought the moral from the story about George Washington chopping down the cherry tree was to NOT lie.  What we actually took from that story was just don’t get caught lying.  Don’t get me wrong, there are people who are still true to their word come Hell or high water.  Their yeses are yes and their no’s are no.  I love those people…in fact, I had breakfast with one of those types today.  Even though he was sick and didn’t feel good and went to the doctor afterwards, he still showed up for breakfast…because he said he would!  That is integrity!  Sure I would have given him a rain check, but he never asked…because he said he would be there.  He didn’t feel like eating, probably didn’t feel like talking, probably didn’t feel like getting out of bed…but he chose the road to integrity.

I love to watch good teams play ball.  In fact, it doesn’t matter the sport to be quite honest.  ESPN Classics is a great channel for me.  They show all the “Great Games” or “Instant Classics” as replays.  One of the great teams to watch is the UCLA Bruins Basketball teams when John Wooden was their coach.  I love watching those teams play.  Why?  Because they play with integrity.  Each man knew their position and their responsibility on each play on offense and defense, but even greater than that, they knew their responsibility to their teammates, their coaches, their fans and ultimately to the game itself.  As Coach Wooden puts it,

” To some extent, integrity contains a bit of reliability, a healthy helping of honesty and a portion of sincerity.  However, I believe that the component of purity of intention is a stand alone quality.”

Purity of intention…aka…motives!  Motives can make you or break you.  A person with integrity wants to do what is right, once he or she is sure what “right” is.

What drives your motives?  Self?  Family? Reputation?  Past?

You see, I believe that for a team to work takes more than just teamwork.  It takes integrity.  It takes men and women of character to be genuinely concerned for each other.  Call it team chemistry, friendship, or whatever…there has to be a concern for their fellow man and the betterment of others.  I guess that is why I like to read and re-read the Book of Job in the Bible.  It is an ultimate lesson in Integrity.  From the opening verse…

“There was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz.  He was blameless, a man of complete integrity.  He feared God and stayed away from evil.” Job 1:1

WOW!!!  How would you like that statement to be made about you?

What are some ways that you can begin down the road of integrity?

What areas do you need to clean up today or maybe this week?

Is there anything you need forgiveness for?  Is there someone you may need to ask forgiveness from?

These are all steps that start you down the road to Integrity…but it takes a person willing to pay the price like Job did in order to take that road.  Will you take that road today?