November 2, 2008

Today I volunteered to be the adult chaperone in the Nursery during worship. It turned out to be an easy assignment – Nathan (the teenager in charge) played blocks and ate pretend food with Ashley, Alexis and Portia while I sat at the table and followed along with the sermon coming in over the speaker system. Pastor Bill was speaking on Romans 6:1-21 and describing his conversation with the youth group on defining sexual purity. He said the kids tended to start from a legalistic standpoint by wanting to figure out how far they can go without crossing “the line.” The lesson Pastor Bill has been pushing is that when it comes to sin, it is not about drawing a line, it’s about what direction you are pointing.

The same lesson applies to integrity. Integrity is not about drawing a line, it’s about pointing in the right direction, staying focused on what pleases God and on accountability to God. Or as it is often defined in the secular world, integrity is about doing the right thing even when no one (on earth) is looking. Our Father, who is in heaven, is always there for us to strengthen us and hold us accountable. Individual responsibility is the core of a healthy society.