Tom took a vacation day on Thanksgiving so he could cook for the family. During the all day affair, at one point he had to run to the store before everyone showed up. He arrived back home to find the road blocked with fire and police vehicles. He ran up to his house and stepped in through the alligator-charred doorway. Tom, and Steve, his lieutenant and best friend, had attended a Promise Keepers rally this year already, and presently enjoyed participating in an accountability group as a branch of a fire department Bible study group. They had been close accountability partners ever since they had voluntarily registered themselves and completed a pornography rehabilitation program. His addiction to porn was the reason Steve had lost his wife three years ago. Together, he and Tom had vowed to clean up their lives and get rid of pornography once and for all.In the living room, Steve was digging out behind the recliner, removing charred papers and magazines from the magazine rack. He decided to remove the end table from the area for the possibility of refinishing its surface at a later date. When he picked it up, the doors flew open and dumped its contents on the living room floor, stirring up more dust and ashes. When the air cleared, his stomach turned ill as one skin magazine after another revealed its sooty cover.Integrity may be defined with words such as unity, completeness, wholesome, sound, solid, or steadfast. Maybe it is standing strong with moral courage in the face of temptation. Whatever words worthy of describing it, integrity is a major component of building trust. When integrity is compromised, trust is betrayed, leaving in its wake the shards and ruins of broken relationships. Frequently, this compromise is done in secret, when we are alone and vulnerable, or just susceptible to the devil's deceptive, cunning schemes. Besides the simple fact that they were faithful, all of the great heroes of the Bible had this characteristic in common: their integrity proved them trustworthy to God, even in their private quarters.Considering our position as sinners, how can we be trusted by God? Luke 16: 10-12 gives us some insight to help us build trust. "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?". After we prove ourselves responsible to handle the small things, God will bless us by giving us true riches of a greater peace and deeper knowledge of Him. He may also choose to give us a bigger ministry, more responsibility, expand our business, etc. But we must first be faithful in handling what He gives us to start with.If it is agreed by many that most relationships are two-way streets, intimately entwined by a bond of trust, how does our personal relationship with Jesus Christ measure up to this model? Do our actions in private and in public prove consistent integrity, allowing God to trust us? Do our actions reflect a strong trust in God: that He died for our sins, that He really lives, that His spirit can empower us to live a Godly life of service?Our goal might be to hear God say this of us: "Then the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.'". (Job 2:3) In light of God's calling us to a holy life, we can start by proving ourselves trustworthy in the little things we encounter on a daily basis. At that point we can expect God to accomplish great things as we make a once and for all commitment to maintain our integrity. To God be the glory. Next week: Leading a Secret Thought Life.
