We are studying a lesson titled “Integrity” based on Zechariah 7:1-14. However, integrity is an often-multifaceted word, see the Stanford Encyclopedia entry. How do you define it? In what sense do you think the LifeWay writers use it in the lesson preparation material?
I think they use it to mean, “act with moral purpose”, that is, integrity is concerned with how one lives. Carole Waina’s writing in the LifeWay Extra for this lesson implies that a person without integrity are not what they appear to be, and she uses mystery shoppers as an illustration of people who are not what they appear to be (not to imply that such people are without integrity).
For me, the idea behind the word integrity is that an outward claim does not match an internal reality. You can probably cite many examples of where a claim doesn’t match reality. One example I’ve mentioned before is that of “spot remover”. Typically, I buy it to get rid of a stain, and after trying it, the product fails to live up to the hype.
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3 comments:
I'm of two minds when it comes to "dress code." My wife won't go to church on Sunday morning unless it's in a dress--no slacks, not even a skirt and blouse. She refuses to let our kids wear shorts to church, even on Sunday night. A lot of people behave differently.
I've personally gone more casual in the last five years, generally alternating tie one week and polo or open collar the next (though I've been mostly in polos over the summer). Like you, I have a hard time stomaching cut offs and flip flops in "God's house" but then I started thinking about why I have those convictions.
An illustration goes back to a vacation I took with the family in 2005. On our way to Texas, we passed through Oklahoma and stopped for lunch at a McDonald's in Oklahoma City. There were a bunch of bikers in there, decked out in black leather from head to toe. I sat my family as far away from them as I could, not wanting to answer questions from my kids about the body piercings and tattoos we would no doubt see along with the salty language I fully expected to hear. As I went to the drink fountain to fill a cup, I caught the writing on the back of the jacket of one of the bikers. It said "Bikers for Christ" or something like that. I had an instant paradigm change and was convicted for my initial thoughts about them. What if one of these people had shown up in my church? Would I snub a brother or sister in Christ wearing leather and looking like people I don't normally hang out with? Probably so. It's a mixed up priority when I place higher value on someone's clothes than what the church is really about--healing the spiritually sick people in need of a Savior.
Part of my conviction on clothing is that it's one of those "we've always done it that way" conventions. Since I was a kid, we dressed nicely for church. As far as I'm concerned, it's always been done that way. But has it really?
I did some background work on this week's lesson in 2 Kings 25, reading about the siege of Jerusalem and the four major events that happened in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months. These four fasts mentioned in Zech. 8 commemorate the assassination of a governor, the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem, the burning of the temple, and one other thing I can't recall off the top of my head.
The law only called for the fast on the Day of Atonement, but the people had instituted customs to fast for these things that they had lost. They couldn't be more than seventy year traditions, but they had the flavor of things that "had always been done that way." Now in Zechariah 7, we see them wanting to get out of them. This is where the lesson on Integrity, or better "Motives for Pure Worship" hits home to me. Do I really need to fast for the loss of the temple when we're staring at a mostly completed replacement?
Do I worship of sincere motives or because it's a habit? Do I teach with conviction or just go through the motions? Am I following God's call or my own selfish desires and ego trips? It's convicting to work through this in my own life as I prepare to teach it to my peers.
Robert (KY)
Sorry, left this in the wrong spot.
Robert, you can delete a comment by clicking the 'trash can' icon at the bottom of a post. I think you have to be logged in to do this.
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