18th December 2024

Alex Buabeng-Korsah

Theme: INTEGRITY

THEME SCRIPTURE: "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 mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you." 1 Samuel 12:3 KJV

Podcast Discussion: 

PREPARATORY QUESTION

1. Should a Christian have integrity?

The writer of Proverbs beautifully asserted that, "The just man walks in his integrity: his children are blessed after him" (Prov. 20:7). This means every just person is known for his integrity, and by walking in integrity his children inherit a kind of blessing.

Today, it is scarce to come across a man or woman of integrity. It is no longer a shock to many that bribes are a standard part of doing business in many countries. The sad side is that there are those who insist that “though we do not believe in these practices, we have no other option if we hope to be involved in world trade.” In recent years, we have had stockbrokers imprisoned for insider trading, the Enron scandal, the FIFA scandal, enthusiastic alumni exposed for paying money under the table to college athletes, judges who have received gifts to pervert judgment, PhD scholars whose works were outsourced, and countless public officials convicted for betraying the public trust.

While we live in a high-tech society with amazing potential for improving the lot of people, improvement isn’t happening because there are too many people in too many high places whose lives and work lack integrity.

It was time for Saul's coronation, probably in Gilgal where Israel had gathered after the defeat of Nahash [the Ammonite] and his army to renew the kingdom. Samuel, who is now the king-maker, stood at the center of the coronation, and he gave his speech. Samuel began his speech with an assessment of himself and the kind of judge he had been (1 Sam 12:3-5).

He focused less on the length of his leadership and more on the quality.

 Samuel opened the way for anyone who knew of any corruption during his tenure to bear witness to the wrongdoing before “the LORD and his anointed” (1 Sam 12:3). He promised restitution for the wronged if any. The areas mentioned were those that the prophets most often accused those in power of abusing. The reply of the people was simply this: “You have not cheated us or oppressed us, nor have you taken anything from any man’s hand” (1 Sam 12:4).

The prophet and judge of Israel had been incorruptible and had not favored private interests. 

Samuel was not on an ego trip, for his character and conduct were crucial to his office as a representative of God.

To be able to come to the end of a career of any sort with Samuel’s “clean hands” should be the noble goal for anyone. As Christians, we have become the ambassadors of Christ in this crooked world.

Therefore, we must live an honest and true life, showing no partiality and being no respecter of persons. But how are we going to ensure that we live a life of integrity in a corrupt world?

Simply, we must be conscious and guided by these three principles in Scripture. The first is that godliness with contentment is a great gain (1 Tim 6:6). The absence of a spirit of contentment in our lives means we are susceptible to corruption. Secondly, a gift blinds the wise and perverts the words of the righteous (Exo 23:8). We must be careful of the gifts we receive, from whom we receive them, and the reason they are given to us. Finally, let your 'Yes' be simply 'Yes', and your 'No' be simply 'No'; anything more than that comes from the evil one (Matt 5:37).

God bless you more.

FURTHER READING: 1 Samuel 12:1-5

Call to Salvation: Today is your day if you have not received salvation by turning over your life to Jesus Christ. Click here to do so.

QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU MEDITATE ON THE WORD

1. How faithful have you been in all that you are doing in your local church, work, and in the family God has given you?
2. How will you rate your own integrity today?

PRAYER

Precious Father, I receive grace to walk in faithfulness, knowing that whatever my hand finds to do, I am supposed to do all to the glory of God. Hallelujah!

ONE-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN

Job 23, Haggai1, Haggai 2, 1 John 5