“Behold, here I am: witness against me before the lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken, or whose ass have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind by eyes therewith and I will restore it to you” 1 Samuel 12:3 (KJV).
We live in such a perilous time in history where integrity has become a very scarce commodity. It has become increasingly difficult to trust people or take leaders by their words. People say different thing but mean different thing altogether. Leaders make promises that they are not prepared to fulfill just to impress people or seek their vote. Unfortunately, Christians are not exempted since most people now find it safer to do business with unbelievers than with most believers. The reason being that with unbelievers, they are quite aware of their lifestyle and so take much caution. As much as we desire and pray that Christians occupy leadership positions, care must be taken to ensure that most Christians will not bring shame to the Christian faith as a result of compromise of their conviction due to pressure from corrupt people around them or temptations associated with such positions. Majority do not always carry the vote. To think that majority is always right will make one to follow popular position rather than the right position. “if you can’t beat them, join them”. This is the language of the world but for the believers, it is to conquer evil with good. It is to let one’s light to so shine that darkness disappears. It is very rare to see a man give account of his service at the end of his tenure with such confidence as Samuel did. No doubt, he had opportunities to compromise his integrity, tempted to accept bribe and pervert justice but he maintained his integrity. No man could fault the account of his service. Today, the credibility gap has become so wide that the honest people are considered as old school. God’s standard remains the same.“Moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” 1 Corinthians 4:2 (KJV).
Prayer: Lord, help me to serve with integrity.
Rev. Vincent Diolu