Integrity is the foundation for lasting success. People of integrity have certain values which they hold dearly and all over the world, G.o.d is looking for people of integrity. Nothing attracts blessing faster to a nation, state or an individual than integrity. Beloved, always be sincere. Even when you make a mistake, own up and repent.If you carefully study the book of Kings, you will find out that some of the kings were holy but they were not sincere. Whenever they make a mistake and G.o.d sends a prophet to rebuke them, they imprison the prophet. But in the case of David, whenever G.o.d sends a prophet to rebuke him, he bows in repentance. Though David was not a perfect man, G.o.d saw the sincerity of his heart.
Sincerity is openness; when you are opened to G.o.d, He blesses you regardless of your mistakes and failures.
The land of Hur was a good land in the days of Abraham; G.o.d would have blessed Abraham in Hur but G.o.d decided to bless him elsewhere, not in Hur. G.o.d took Abraham to a strange land because of the future He planned for Abraham. Abraham was taken to a city built by G.o.d; that city is Israel.
If you ever have the opportunity to visit Israel, you will wonder why countries are at war with Israel. In the physical, nothing about Israel looks special. But in the realm of the spirit, the devil has been focusing on Israel because it is a land blessed by G.o.d. Why is this so? It is simply because of the promise G.o.d made with Abraham.
Some people love to pretend but David had integrity; he was totally sincere.
Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in my integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide.
Psalm 26:1
A nation that will develop needs people who are sincere at the helm of affairs but any land where people without integrity are applauded; such a nation is in trouble. This is because you cannot correct others when they are wrong if you are also not living right.
You may be labeled a tyrant but that won"t be forever. Everything G.o.d made in the world produce things after its own kind. There will never be a day that a goat will give birth to a lion. Some parents are wondering why their children are wayward; they must have forgotten the children only took after them, the parents. They might not realize that children learn faster from their parents. So, if you don"t want your children to emulate wrong things from you, then live right.
Your present circ.u.mstance is not bigger than G.o.d"s purpose for your life. Being under somebody is not a crime. Some do not see themselves as being prosperous until they have all they desire. When you walk in integrity, G.o.d"s presence is guaranteed in your life. Though, Joseph was a slave in a strange land, G.o.d was with him because of his integrity.
And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
Gen 39:2-3.
In the above verse, even an unbeliever could see that G.o.d was with Joseph. The danger of this world is that people like Portiphar are very rare. Some people will even want to exploit you once they see your grace. Portiphar saw Joseph as an a.s.set and he was wise enough to make him the leader of all he had, but Portiphar had a bad wife. The foolish woman did not see how G.o.d prospered her husband because of Joseph; all she thought of was how to seduce this handsome young man. You can be sure Portiphar"s family came down once Joseph was sent out of their home to the prison.
Even in the prison, the keeper of the prison left everything in the care of Joseph because he also saw grace upon Joseph; he saw that everything left in the care of Joseph prospered. Joseph became a leader even in prison; because G.o.d was with him. If G.o.d is with you and you have integrity, you can get anywhere in life.
Holiness will attract hatred and envy to you but integrity will preserve you. Daniel lived a holy life and people hated him. The leaders of the land conspired against Daniel; and ignorantly, the king made a decree that was aimed at getting Daniel to either disobey his G.o.d or disobey the king and face the consequence.
The king only realized the conspiracy after he had put a seal on his decree; at a stage no one could change the decree any longer. But G.o.d went ahead of Daniel and He sent His angel to shut the mouths of the lions. On the long run, G.o.d exchanged the life of Daniel with that of his enemies. Daniel lived a life of integrity and he outlived three unG.o.dly kings.
If only you will be a man/woman of integrity, G.o.d will bypa.s.s a million to bless you. No matter how ingenious a man is, if he does not have integrity, he cannot be trusted. An important question you need to answer is "what quality of people do you give permission to in your life?" This question is pertinent because you attract your kind.
You may not be able to avoid being misunderstood if you want to be great; to be great is to be misunderstood but history has continued to vindicate those with integrity. Beloved, even when your good intentions are misunderstood, you need not explain yourself to anybody; if you follow the right path and you succeed, they will eventually come to you.