Becoming Men Of Integrity

Becoming Men Of Integrity

1 Samuel 21:1-9 Luke 13:31-35 11/8/2019

When you hear the word integrity, what other words come into your mind. Some words I think of are honesty, faithfulness, keeping your word, trustworthy, consistent, dependable, caring, righteous, justice and steadfast. Men we are living at a time when integrity has become harder and harder to maintain, and much more costly than ever before to hold on to.

Things that use to be in place to help us out are no longer there to support us, especially in our society. There was a time when a man was upheld for being faithful to his wife. Now Hollywood would have us believe every married man should have an affair.

There was a time, when we had to go to adult stores off the interstate or in the backroom of some stores to find pornography. But today it is just a click away on our i-phones, androids and computers and we unwittingly pass it on to our sons and daughters without realizing our kids start watching it on their tablets as young as eight years old.

There was a time when in our businesses we were expected to look out for the good of our employees, but today we find ways to rob them of their pensions or ways to fire them the day before they are entitled to certain benefits.

There was a time when things were much more black and white on what was wrong and what was right. But today many more decisions and actions have fallen into the gray area, because we have moved away from God’s word and there is no solid standard by which we can say” this is right and this is wrong.” Everybody wants to do what’s right in their own eyes.

More and more we have people trying to impose their views on us. They are insisting that we participate in their actions even though they violate our conscience, because we want to stand for the word of God. This past week a federal judge blocked a law that gave medical workers the right to refuse to participate in performing abortions or gender reassignment surgery.

Think about this for a moment. If a teenager believed they should go through life with one arm and wants one arm removed, what should be done to the parent or the doctor who says, if that’s what you believe let’s cut that arm off? What should happen to the doctor who objects to cutting off a healthy arm on both medical and religious grounds? Should the doctor be fired or face a monetary fine or lawsuit from the parents of the teen.

How is that so radically different from the teenager who believes themselves to be a member of the opposite sex. Should a doctor be able to refuse to cut off the teenagers penis or to cut off a pair of healthy breasts because of the doctor’s medical or religious beliefs. Yet for the doctor to maintain his or her integrity, he or she may be forced to comply or face a law suit for discrimination.

Our society has made the acceptance of all forms of sexual behavior as the standard for what it is to be a man of integrity. If you should say any form is contrary to the word of God you are hateful, bigoted, unloving, and unaccepting of others. Yet to me a man of integrity starts with seeing what does God have to say about a situation and lining yourself with the word of God.

We have seen first hand what drugs have done to our community. We are witnessing executions of our young people at an alarming rate often times with drug related incidents. Now people are ready to sell drugs legally in our community. It always starts out as medical marijuana but it quickly becomes recreational. All of a sudden Glenville, Hough, Miles and Collinwood are looking more and more like gold mines as places to flood with marijuana.

Can you explain to me, if it is our money that should be going to our families but will be going to the drug dealers, and our money that should be going to living healthier but will be going to the drug dealers, and our money that should be going to improving our homes and neighborhoods but will be going to the drug dealers, Why did an Ohio State Judge rule this past week, that it is illegal for the state to set aside 15% of the contracts for those growing and producing marijuana to be set aside from economically disadvantaged groups to remedy past and present racial discrimination?

“And while remedying the present effects of past discrimination can be a compelling interest, the state does not have a compelling interest in remedying societal discrimination" was Judge's Costello Reasoning.