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- Apr 25, 2006
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Walking in Truth (2)
'...I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.' Romans 7:21 NIV
Unless you make truthfulness a priority, there's an actual 'law at work' which dictates that even when you 'want to do good, evil is right there'. That means our natural 'default' setting (the one automatically selected by our internal computer unless we deliberately choose another option) is always set toward a lower standard.
One author writes: 'I lived in Atlanta...there's a vine there called kudzu...and once it creeps onto your tree or fence, if you don't kill it immediately, it'll overtake your entire property. Any deception... subtle omission... telling a tiny white lie...is like planting a kudzu seed in the garden of your heart... For me it's a slippery slope, like taking a side route on an unmarked path, thinking I've found a shortcut. I get sloppy...lazy...then I get lost.
I let one infraction of integrity slide without correction. I feel the tug of the Holy Spirit, but I shrug it off and stay busy...and I've taken the first step into shadow-living... Tiny lies are like snowballs rolling downhill... they're sticky, and they get bigger fast! How do we stay in truth when the potential resides in us to compromise?
First: we must recommit to our walk with God every morning before we do anything else. We do that through prayer and reading the Scriptures. By doing this we're choosing light over darkness while it's still too early to mess up.
Second: we must align ourselves with the promptings of the Spirit. This is a highly personal thing which grows in direct proportion to our time and devotion to our walk with God.'
written by Bob Gass
'...I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.' Romans 7:21 NIV
Unless you make truthfulness a priority, there's an actual 'law at work' which dictates that even when you 'want to do good, evil is right there'. That means our natural 'default' setting (the one automatically selected by our internal computer unless we deliberately choose another option) is always set toward a lower standard.
One author writes: 'I lived in Atlanta...there's a vine there called kudzu...and once it creeps onto your tree or fence, if you don't kill it immediately, it'll overtake your entire property. Any deception... subtle omission... telling a tiny white lie...is like planting a kudzu seed in the garden of your heart... For me it's a slippery slope, like taking a side route on an unmarked path, thinking I've found a shortcut. I get sloppy...lazy...then I get lost.
I let one infraction of integrity slide without correction. I feel the tug of the Holy Spirit, but I shrug it off and stay busy...and I've taken the first step into shadow-living... Tiny lies are like snowballs rolling downhill... they're sticky, and they get bigger fast! How do we stay in truth when the potential resides in us to compromise?
First: we must recommit to our walk with God every morning before we do anything else. We do that through prayer and reading the Scriptures. By doing this we're choosing light over darkness while it's still too early to mess up.
Second: we must align ourselves with the promptings of the Spirit. This is a highly personal thing which grows in direct proportion to our time and devotion to our walk with God.'
written by Bob Gass
