Psalm 1: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall proper. The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.”

Philippians 2:12,13: “Therefore, my beloved, “as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

When your children were little you taught them how to act. Baby Christians need to be taught how to act. We don’t live by the world’s standards. We’re the King’s kids. We have to live by royal standards. 

Integrity = say what you mean and mean what you say, let your word be your covenant.

Proverbs 15:28: “The heart of the righteous studies how to answer. But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.” Proverbs 17:28: “Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.” Let your words build up and not destroy. Use wisdom and be slow to speak rather than open up your mouth quickly and be thought a fool or crush another’s spirit or cause confusion.  

Proverbs 18:19: “A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a castle.” Be careful not to offend others. Be quick to apologize when you hurt someone or do a wrong. 

Share your resources. Why should you have two and your brother have none?  Matthew 5:40: “If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.” We all have too much stuff (especially here in America). Instead of keeping all that stuff in storage why not share it with someone who needs it. 

Keep your word. Matt. 5:37: “But let your “yes” be “yes”, and your “no” be “no”. For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” This is what Jesus said. He is explaining to us the family way. How we do things in the kingdom. We are to be in this world not of this world. How often are you invited somewhere? What is your answer?
It should be either yes or no. Too often we won’t commit because something better might come along or we might not feel like going out. This is incredibly rude and insensitive to the one who invited you. They placed a high value on you by inviting you. You should respond by giving a definite answer. Then if you said yes, you should keep your word and be there, even if something better comes up.

Make others feel of value. James 2:2-4: “For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “you sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” Be as quick to reach out to the one who is different from you, smells bad, or looks strange as you would to one that you connect with.

Be a good listener. Jesus said in John 8:43: “Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.” When talking to others, clear your mind and focus on what they are saying. Not listening says to them they are of little value, not worth your time to listen. Be sure to process what they are saying so you can have a profitable conversation with them.

Be honest. Colossians 3:9: “Do not lie to one another , since you have put off the old man with his deeds.” There is no such thing as a white lie. A lie is a lie and Christians should be truthful. We justify lying so we will not hurt someone’s feelings. We do that simply because it is easier than telling the truth. If someone asks how you like their new hairdo and you don’t like it then simply say you preferred the other style, or find something you like about this one and say that. Oh your hair is so curly or it is so soft.

We often lie to cover our mistakes. If you messed up just admit it. I’m sorry, I goofed. Not nearly as hard as most people think. Remember God always knows the truth and you’re not fooling Him.

 Do everything to the best of your ability. Colossians 3:23: “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” No one is perfect. We all have our issues. We often get ourselves so involved with so many things we find ourselves just breezing through one thing to get to the next. Everything we commit to should have our full attention. Do the very best you can do and then move on to the next thing. If you are going to be a person of integrity, people need to know that they can place their confidence in you to do what you say you will.

People in the kingdom of God should be people of integrity. How can we bring glory to our Father if we are not. If we follow the scriptures, we will have integrity. We can feel good about ourselves and we won’t find ourselves questioning so often, “How does God feel about me?” For we will have confidence in ourselves, as men and women of righteousness. Those who have confidence are able to accomplish much more in life, therefore they can accomplish much more in the Kingdom.