It’s a Wednesday night. You just got off work and you haven’t eaten all day. You and a couple of your friends head to the ole Taco Bell to get a quick, cheap meal. You order the same thing that you always order; but once you sit down at your table you realize that there is an extra soft shell taco that you didn’t order or pay for.
It’s a Friday night showing of the hottest movie of the summer. You are a little late for your showtime and when you get there the theater is packed. You can’t sit by your friends. So you wait for the next showing which is a half hour later; but it’s in 3-D. Which means it’s $3.oo more. So you grab some 3-D glasses from the used bin and head into the 3-D showing although you only paid for a 2-D showing.
The list could go on and on of instances where the status of our integrity will be tested. These examples may seem to be extremely small scale and unimportant, but the fact is they are just the opposite. There is more at stake than 89 cents for a taco or 3.00 dollars for 3-D glasses; what is a stake here is our integrity. John Wooden gives a good definition of integrity when he says, “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.”
What he’s saying is that if we get caught doing something wrong we are usually quick to repent and make amends. But our true character reveals itself when when something happens that no one will know about. Although some incidents will seem small scale, the heart of the matter remains unchanged. If we are dishonest with little what will stop us from being dishonest when there is more to gain?
Soli Deo gloria
AMEN! I’m so proud of you! God wants to give us BIG THINGS, but He must be able to trust us with the little things first. It DOES Matter (to Him)!