Weekly Blog - 11 December 2023 - Attitude and Integrity

 

Personal attitude and integrity

This week in Arise’s weekly blog we take a look at what the Bible has to say about the personal character we should be displaying as Christians.  The Bible has much to instruct us as people of God in our personal attitude, and in the integrity we should display as we engage with others in our world.  We are to be radically loving to all, loving our neighbours as ourselves.  As the letter to the Galatians says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Gal 6: 9 – 10).  In particular, we are to spend time with the needy in our society: the poor, the marginalised, the unpopular, those society rejects, as this is what Jesus did.  As he said, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbours … But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed” (Luke 14: 12 – 14).  

When anyone interrupts our lives with a need, we should drop whatever we are doing and help.  People come first.  This is what Jesus did, and no one in history had a more important job to do than him.  If he can make time, then so can we.  Jesus did this, even in the midst of deepest grief, when he had just been told of the murder of John the Baptist, “When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.  Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns.  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick” (Matt 14: 13 – 14).  In engaging with others, we should be “quick to listen, slow to speak” (James 1: 19) and we should show no favouritism.  As Paul says to Timothy, “I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favouritism” (1 Tim 5: 21).  We should respect our elders, as Peter instructs “you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders” (1 Pet 5: 5).  And we should be hospitable to all who need it.  As the letter to the Hebrews urges, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it” (Hebs 13: 2).

In our approach to life, the Bible constantly encourages us to be bold and courageous.  This is not about how confident we feel.  None of us can control how we feel, and therefore we shouldn’t beat ourselves up about it.  We can only control what we do.  Being bold and courageous means doing what we believe is the right thing, even when it is unpopular, or will have negative consequences for us, or we are fearful.  The more we choose to be bold and courageous, the more the feeling of confidence will naturally follow.  As Joshua was famously told by God when he entered the Holy Land, “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Josh 1: 9).  We are to seek wisdom, education, knowledge and understanding.  In just one example from the Bible, God was delighted with Solomon when he asked – not for wealth, riches, honour, the death of his enemies or long life, but instead – for “wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people” (2 Chron 1: 10).  In our engagement with others, we should always try to be positive, upbeat and optimistic, even when we don’t feel like it.  After all, we already know the end of our story, and God’s big story in our world, and it is a very happy one.  We have every reason for hope.  As Paul urges, “Rejoice always” (1 Thess 5: 16), and the book of Proverbs says “the cheerful heart has a continual feast” (Prov 15: 15).

We should be humble, for Jesus told his followers “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all” (Mark 10: 43 – 44).  We should also “be patient with everyone” (1 Thess 5: 14) in all situations.  We are to “be self-controlled” (Titus 2: 5).  We are to be law abiding, as Paul instructed Titus, “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient” (Titus 3: 1).  This is unless the law compels us to compromise our faith, which obviously we should never do, in which case, like Peter and the apostles, “We must obey God rather than human beings!” (Acts 5: 29).  For those of us living in democracies, we should always exercise our freedom and vote.  The Bible was of course written long before any modern democracies emerged.  However, it does state that those in positions of national authority have been placed there by God and are to exercise their responsibilities justly.  In modern democracies the ultimate authority lies with the people – you and me – and thus, we are to follow this Biblical injunction and engage in the democratic process by always using our vote in the way we believe God would want.  In our engagement in the world, we are to be “as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matt 10: 16).  We should therefore not be naïve about what is happening around us and the motives people may have, whilst at the same time, ensuring that for our part we always act with complete integrity.

As well as these behaviours of attitude and integrity discussed above, there are also a range of things the Bible tells us we must not do.  We are not to gossip or criticise others behind their backs, for “A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends” (Prov 16: 28).  We should not mock or tease others, as the Psalms say “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers” (Psalm 1: 1).  We should not judge others, for Jesus urged us “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged” (Matt 7: 1 – 2).  Neither should we lie, as Paul tells us “each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour” (Eph 4: 25).  Neither should we grumble or complain, but “Do everything without grumbling or arguing” (Phil 2: 14).  We should try to stay calm and not get angry no matter how provoked, James urges us all to be “slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires” (James 1: 19 – 20).  Neither therefore should we be argumentative, for “the Lord’s servants must not be quarrelsome” (2 Tim 2: 24).  We are not to be envious or jealous of other people, as the letter to the Galatians says “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other” (Gal 5: 26).  We should not look at anyone with lust but instead follow Job’s example, who was able to say “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman” (Job 31: 1).

We should never make an oath or swear by anything, as Jesus said “do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven … or by the earth … All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’” (Matt 5: 33 – 37).  We should also avoid swearing, cursing, blaspheming or using profanities, for as James urged, “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.  Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.  My brothers and sisters, this should not be” (James 3: 9 – 10).  We should not be hypocritical, as Jesus challenged us, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? … You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye” (Luke 6: 41 – 42). We should also pay any debts we have incurred, and ideally avoid getting into debt, or putting up security for anyone else in debt, in the first place, as the book of Proverbs says, “Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you” (Prov 22: 26 – 27).

Jesus also tells us not to worry, urging us “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself” (Matt 6: 34).  As we have already seen, we cannot choose how we feel, but we can choose how we act.  So if we find ourselves worrying and dwelling on something, we should not feel guilty about that.  Instead what we can do when we notice we have mentally gone back to it again, is each time make a choice to think about something else.  Over time, this will encourage us out of the cycle of worry.  Finally, across the Old and New Testament the Bible is clear that we should worship God alone and not engage in any other sort of worship or spiritual activity.  In just one of many instances throughout the Bible, we are warned “Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists” (Lev 19: 31).

As we seek to serve God and expand his kingdom through engaging in the work of our churches and of Christian organisations like Arise, we should never lose sight of the fact that we too are being transformed as we draw closer and closer to Jesus.  Let’s continue to work towards increasingly modelling these Biblical behaviours of personal attitude and integrity in our lives.

 

Find out more

Find out more about how God is at work in the world, and the role we all have to play in that work, in the Arise Manifesto.  This report is Arise’s big picture, researched, Biblical, holistic and practical vision for a better world.  It looks at what the Bible says, and what we can learn from the best data and the world’s leading experts on the five major areas of evangelism, discipleship, social justice, development and the environment.  It then draws these lessons together into a practical road map for the changes we need to see in our world, which the Arise movement campaigns to achieve.

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