Your Integrity Shows Your Faithfulness
By Rick Warren
“Whoever is faithful in small matters will be faithful in large ones; whoever is dishonest in small matters will be dishonest in large ones” (Luke 16:10 GNT).
A common saying today is that “what you do in your private life is nobody else’s business.” Well, it actually is. What you do in your private life — what you do behind closed doors or out of view of other people — builds and reveals your true character. And God sees it just as clearly as the things you do in public.
In fact, the small, unseen things you do are the seeds to God’s public blessing on your life. You cannot compartmentalize your life and say, “I have integrity in my public life, just not in my private life.” I bet you could make a list right now of public figures that have tried to live this way only to have their private indiscretions turn into public scandal and personal downfall. No matter what they say, any leader who is not faithful in small matters will not be faithful in large matters.
Jesus says, “If you have not been faithful with that which belongs to someone else, who will give you what belongs to you?” (Luke 16:12 GNT).
For centuries, everybody who learned a skill, trade, or vocation learned it through an apprenticeship. If you were going to be a mechanic, you apprenticed to another mechanic and served in his (or her) business before you started your own.
This principle of apprenticeship applies to every area of your life. It applies to how you handle other people’s money, how you handle other people’s possessions, and even how you handle other people’s ministry before God gives you your own.
Before God gave me my own ministry, I served as a youth pastor under another man’s ministry. God was watching how I handled it; he was testing my integrity. I needed to prove my faithfulness in that ministry before God would allow me to lead the ministry of Saddleback Church.
If someone loans you a car, how well do you take care of it? If a family lets you stay in their house for vacation, do you treat it as well as you treat your own home? God is watching and testing your integrity. And he will reward you accordingly.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>
Talk It Over
How does your faith influence and shape your integrity?
How does integrity reveal a person’s level of faithfulness?
What does the Bible mean when it says, “Whoever is faithful in small matters will be faithful in large ones” (Luke 16:10 GNT)? How have you seen that to be true in your life?
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Find courage to transform yourself and impact the world around you!
“Because of our faith in him we dare to have boldness, courage, and confidence in coming to God with freedom and without fear.” (Ephesians 3:12 AP)
Everything God does in your life, He does by His grace and through your faith. So if you want God to work through you to influence those around you, start by developing a deeper trust in Him!
Pastor Rick Warren shows you how in his Daring Faith Study Kit. As you explore the 6 faith-building sessions in this DVD Bible study, you’ll learn how to:
• Find the courage to leave your comfort zone
• Make a lasting difference in the lives of others
• Use generosity to change your life
• And more!
The Daring Faith Study Kit is our way of thanking you for your gift today to share the hope of Christ through Daily Hope. Daring Faith will help give you the courage to transform your life and impact the world around you. So request your copy when you give today!
This devotional © 2017 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.