Today, we are part of six or seven congregations in the East Noble School district that are addressing the six pillars of 'Character Counts!' program that East Noble has been running for the past couple of years. It is not often these days that the church and the school get together on the same page but that is what we are doing for the next six weeks. When the head of 'Character Counts!' for East Noble came to the East Noble Ministerial Association last fall to discuss the program, the pastors very strongly felt that this is something that we could get behind and support.
It is also nice to have the kids with us for the next six weeks. And kids, I am asking you to share with me ideas for an activity, a trivia question, or a thought that you have for the remaining five sermons.
(Slide 1) Here are the six pillars of “Character Counts!”: Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship which is remembered as TRRFCC or Terrific!
Now before we look at trustworthiness, let's step back and look at why we are studying these six important qualities. In the Bible there a book called Proverbs (located next to Psalms) that contains a lot of interesting and helpful sayings. One of the big ideas in Proverbs is wisdom.
Now, what is wisdom? (Ask for congregational response.)
According to the first verses in Proverbs it is the purpose of wisdom that is as important to have as a definition of what wisdom means. (Though having a good definition though is important!)
(Slide 2) Here is what it says in Proverbs 1:2-4, “The purpose of these proverbs is to teach people wisdom and discipline, and to help them understand wise sayings. 3Through these proverbs, people will receive instruction in discipline, good conduct, and doing what is right, just, and fair. 4These proverbs will make the simpleminded clever. They will give knowledge and purpose to young people.” (NLT)
These six pillars of character are related to wisdom because they are six ways of learning to be wise people. And wise people also learn, with God's help, to be people of good character.
When we make the commitment to follow Jesus, it is important to know that our character will need to change. For example, if we have a problem with our temper, we need to have Jesus helps us learn how to control our temper.
Being trustworthy is a very Christian thing to be and the Bible tells us to be trustworthy and gives us examples of trustworthiness. But before we look at what the Bible has to say, I want us to practice being trustworthy.
So I need four kids to volunteer for a trust walk. Okay, thank you!
Now what is a trust walk? Here are the directions.
(Slide 3) A trust walk has one person leading another person on a walk while their eyes are closed. The “blind person” has to trust the guide.
Now pair up and the person on the left is the blind person and the person on the right is the guide. Guides, take your partner around the sanctuary and back to where you started without purposely running them into something or someone. Those being led are to use their hands to cover their eyes. Ready? Go!
(Switch roles and do it again.)
Now, hard or easy to do? (Ask for feedback.)
I remember back during Sibs Camp last summer that Jonathon had enough trust in the camp pastor to fall backward into his arms from several steps up on a ladder. Pastor Tom was impressed by Jonathon's level of trust.
Who in the Bible might show us how to be trustworthy? (Ask for responses) (Slide 4) Well, I want to take us back to the Christmas story for a few moments and suggest that the Wise men demonstrated trustworthiness.
Let's look at Matthew 2:1-12
“Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2“Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We have seen his star as it arose, and we have come to worship him.”
3Herod was deeply disturbed by their question, as was all of Jerusalem. 4He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law. “Where did the prophets say the Messiah would be born?” he asked them.
5“In Bethlehem,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
6‘O Bethlehem of Judah,
you are not just a lowly village in Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”
7Then Herod sent a private message to the wise men, asking them to come see him. At this meeting he learned the exact time when they first saw the star. 8Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
9After this interview the wise men went their way. Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12But when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.” (NLT, Tyndale Publishing House)
Now you might be thinking this morning, 'Pastor Jim, how can this story be about trustworthiness?' Good question! I'm glad you asked!
We are going to use some 'Character Counts!' descriptions of trustworthiness to help us answer this question:
(Slide 5) One sign that you are trustworthy is to ' Be reliable — do what you say you’ll do.'
Now in our Bible story the Wise Men were reliable. They appeared to have agreed to King Herod’s request that they would come back and tell him where the King of the Jews was so he could go and worship him.
Now we do not know until later that Herod had a very bad reason for wanting to know where Jesus was located. God would warn them in a dream to go home another way so that they would not reveal Jesus' whereabouts.
But they exhibited trustworthiness in their actions toward Herod.
It is very important to be trustworthy because to be trusted is very important as you get older. When you start working, you need to be trustworthy because your employer will trust you with his/her business: the money, the equipment, and one thing we do not often think about, the reputation of the business.
We learn trustworthiness first and most important from our parents. We come to expect that our parents will be reliable do what they say they would do.
Now sometimes, unexpected situations come up that keep parents from following through on a commitment that they have made. That happens.
School is another important place where trustworthiness is developed. When you are given an assignment in class, your teacher expects you to be trustworthy in finishing that assignment. They expect you to be reliable and follow through on your commitment.
School is your job right now. It is where you spend a great deal of time just like parents spent a great deal of time a work.
School is where you learn important habits that are important to work. Like showing up on time. Being respectful. Doing your work to the best of your ability. And being trustworthy. (Speaking of work, do you know what your paycheck is at school? Your report card!)
However, sometimes in our efforts to be trustworthy, we encounter situations and people that challenge us to be trustworth.
In verse 12 we read “...when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.” We later learn that Herod wanted to kill Jesus. He did not want anyone to take his throne, his power away from him. Jesus was a threat as the King of the Jews, the Messiah.
People are like that, aren't they? You have people at school or in the neighborhood who say and do hurtful things. And you have to adjust or change how you make your promises and commitments because they want to do something that is wrong.
This is what the Wise Men were faced with. They had promised to tell Herod where Jesus was located. But God knew what Herod really wanted to do and so He (God) warned them in a dream to not go back to Herod and tell him what he wanted to know.
(Slide 5a) Another characteristic of being trustworthy is that we “have the courage to do the right thing.”
How many of us here this morning have faced a situation that required of us the courage to do the right thing?
When I was in college, I took a final test for one of my classes before the rest of the class did as I was leaving earlier than normal. One of the students in that class saw me afterward and asked me if he could have the answers to the test!
I had never been asked to give answers to a test before. I was shocked! I was scared!
God helped me that moment with an answer (a truthful one). 'I am sorry I cannot remember the questions on the test.” And I walked away.
Now he could have been failing the class for all I know. But I could not tell him the answers as I could not remember all the questions and it was wrong to do so. (It was a math test that I was glad to be done with!)
I think that the Wise Men had the courage to do the right thing. I think that it was hard for them to not return to Herod because they were very polite and educated men who knew that it was a respectful thing to return to the King of the nation you were visiting as you were leaving, especially if he had asked you to do something for him!
To do the right thing does take courage at times. It may mean that you lose a friend because they do not want to do the right thing. Sometimes in doing the right thing you may lose a job because you refuse to do what is wrong because your boss wants you to.
Trustworthiness is a very important character quality for us to develop in our lives. It gives us credibility which means we are believable and can be trusted. When people's trust in us is broken, that is a serious issue and it takes a long time for it to come back.
(Slide 6) As I finish this morning, I want us to think about our school and work week.
Let's read the days of the week out loud. 'Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.'
(Slide 7) On which one of these days do you find your ability to be trustworthy is often tested; that being trustworthy is hard to do? Is it with a particular time of day or particular class? Is it with a particular person?
(Slide 8) Taking what we have learned this morning then and applying the two points made this morning take a moment and write down on the back of your bulletin your answers to these two questions:
How can I be more reliable like the Wise Men?
Where can I get the courage to do the right thing like the Wise Men?
Finally, ask Jesus to help you every day to be a trustworthy person and practice trustworthiness at school, at home, in your neighborhood, and on the athletic field. Amen.
