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Integrity

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine."¹

Don Johnson of Afterglow wrote, "In ancient China, the people desired security from the barbaric hordes to the north, so they built the great Chinese wall. It was so high they knew no one could climb over it and so thick that nothing could break it down. They settled back to enjoy their security. During the first hundred years of the wall's existence China was invaded three times. Not once did the barbaric hordes break down the wall or climb over the top. Each time they bribed a gatekeeper and then marched right through the gates. The Chinese were so busy relying upon the walls of stone that they forgot to teach integrity to their children."²

Integrity means: keeping your word; being faithful to your commitments; doing an honest day's work; not doing in the dark what you would never be caught doing in the light. It is being loyal, trustworthy, and faithful. It means: being true to yourself and honest with others; being genuine, authentic, and real, faithful, trustworthy, and loyal.

Our individual lives and our families will not be saved by personal power, wealth, education, popularity, nor beauty, but by integrity and our trust in the Lord. Neither will our nation be saved by the power and might of our military nor our brilliant technical warfare. In the long run we will only be saved by our integrity and our trust in the Lord, for "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord."

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me as an individual to always maintain integrity, and help us as a nation to realize the tremendous importance of maintaining integrity. And grant that we will be forever reminded that 'blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.' Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."

1. Psalm 33:12,16-19 (NIV).
2. Afterglow, www.afterglow.org.

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