Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Wisdom from Proverbs”
Our Bible verse for today: “Better a poor man who lives with integrity than someone who has deceitful lips and is a fool.” Proverbs 19:1 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “It’s better to be poor and honest than rich and dishonest.”
Today’s lesson from Proverbs 19:1 teaches that a wise person is honest and has integrity, even if that doesn’t seem to be to their advantage in worldly terms, but a fool is dishonest and deceitful.
Deep down we know that Proverbs 19:1 is true. In the end righteous conduct will pay dividends, and dishonesty will reap unpleasant consequences. Richard Nixon had to resign from the office of President for being dishonest. Brian Williams lost a multi-million dollar job as a network news anchor for telling lies. Bernie Madoff is spending the rest of his life in prison for defrauding people out of millions of dollars. Maybe it’s true that you never had the fabulous wealth that Bernie enjoyed for a time, but you’re also not spending the rest of your life in prison either; as Solomon told us in Ecclesiastes 9:4, “A live dog is better than a dead lion.”
I once knew a man who was in an important position in an organization. He was held in high esteem by people who didn’t know him too well but for those who had to work with him closely behind the scenes, they knew that he had a bad habit of tip-toeing along the line between right and wrong, between ethical and unethical. He lived in that grey area of questionable conduct, seeking always to somehow get maximum advantage for himself. And, he would occasionally cross the line into unethical and even illegal conduct. He also frequently shaded the truth, or sometimes even told outright lies, in an effort to manipulate people and situations.
As a result, over time there were multiple audits by the IRS of both his personal and organizational tax returns; there were a couple of lawsuits regarding questionable personal business deals; there were frequent conflicts with staff members; and those closest to him could never really be sure if he was telling them the full truth in any given situation.
Early in his ministry years Billy Graham established a high bar of conduct for himself and for his closest associates. He said that not only did they have to avoid any inappropriate conduct, but they had to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. They had to stay so far away from the line dividing right and wrong that there would be no chance of ever crossing it. That’s a pretty good standard for all of us.
It is always better to be squeaky clean and above reproach in your conduct, even if doing so means sacrificing a little personal advantage. I encourage you to be a person of honesty and integrity.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 