Day 3: Integrity
Okay, I love what Brooke said in the chapter “What are we aiming for?” As a mom of young boys, I just assume that if I do my job, they won’t have hearts of stone, or I can change it using my knowledge of child development. It was eye-opening to be reminded that it is not in our job description or ability set to convict anyone to live a God-glorifying life.
Unfortunately, she didn’t speak much on integrity though. In the leader’s guide she wrote this:
“Integrity can be defined as firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values or the quality or state of being complete or undivided. Someone who stands up for what is right no matter who is around.”
The bible is clear that loving God and loving others are the most important commandments (Matthew 22:36-40). However, integrity might be the most important trait for our sons to gain to live a healthy, fruitful life in our culture. No matter how much we try to shelter them, they will be confronted with so many chances to sin secretly. With sexting, internet pornography, social media/ease of adultery, the widespread availability of drugs and alcohol at a young age, we MUST pray for their integrity!
I love the part of the definition that defines integrity as the “state of being complete or undivided.” When we are incomplete or divided in our faithfulness or loyalty to our children, our spouse, our God, problems arise. When a husband’s attention is divided between his wife and women on nasty internet sites (who are half our age, and surgically enhanced), spirits are crushed. When a politician divides his focus between his constituents and his mistresses, trust is lost. When an employee divides his loyalty between his corporation and his desire to make money by disclosing non-public information, jail time is imminent. When a woman’s time is divided between reading her bible and reading gossip magazines, her mind (and therefore words and actions) is confused and her ministry is hindered.
Since having our son, and now having him at an age where he understands things that are being said around him, that we are a lot more choosy about the shows we watch on television. And since I started this study and another one a few weeks ago, I find that I could probably drop cable TV altogether and not miss it. I not only don't want my son to see/hear those things, I am not interested in seeing/hearing those things. I am appalled at how desensitized we had become to rauchy language and imagery as well as violence and gore; we had forgotten how to blush(Jeremiah 6:15 & 8:12). Having a young impressionable child in our home has made us aware of those things again.
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