Integrity is a part of your character that you can’t develop overnight- it involves a lifetime of good, honest, and moral decision-making. In Psalm 101, we read words written by David telling us how he desires to live with integrity in both his personal life and in his rule. Though none of us are likely to ever be kings, we can still apply a lot of this wisdom to our own lives, but you should probably leave the destruction of the wicked to others.
So, how can we walk with integrity like David? First, we see that he will “ponder the way that is blameless.” It’s a good practice to consider what it means to live in a way that glorifies God. Ponder your life and seek to be blameless in the way you live and make changes that you need to make.
Then, “I will not set anything worthless before my eyes.” What are you focusing on? What gets most of your attention throughout the day? Do me a favor and take a moment to check your Screen Time Report on your phone. Now, answer honestly- how many of the things you set before your eyes are worthless? Replace these worthless things with things that will improve your life, your mental health, and your relationship with God.
We also see that David is actively avoiding “perverse hearts,” “those who slander their neighbors,” “those with a haughty look and arrogant heart,” and those who “practice deceit.” Take a look at the people you allow to influence you, the people in your inner circle. Are they fostering your growth or hindering it? Surround yourself with people who will offer you godly advice and support. Build a community around you that will carry you when you can’t carry yourself.
-Hope Fletcher
Reflection Questions
What do you see as the importance of pondering the way that is blameless? What in your life this month has brought glory to God? What has not?
What is worthless? What is not? “What are you focusing on? What gets most of your attention throughout the day?”
“Take a look at the people you allow to influence you, the people in your inner circle. Are they fostering your growth or hindering it?” Who could you intentionally spend more time with in order to work towards your own godly growth? Set up some time together with this person/these people and pray about your time together.
My kids love to study animals, especially my 8 year old son, Oliver. He has a particular interest in sea-life. He told me once, in depth, about the amazing mimic Octopus. This creature mimics the actions of some other sea life, rather than just using camouflage, in order to protect itself.
There are other animals in nature that do something similar, pretending to be something they are not in order to achieve safety or to catch prey. They pick out what works for other animals, and do those things themselves. We do this all the time, sometimes knowingly, sometimes not. When in a group of people I generally am subconsciously on high alert to fit in. It’s exhausting and tense and causes me so much anxiety. I will likely mimic what is around me so that I can be more comfortable while interacting. This is normal human behavior that some use more than others. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing! It entirely depends on who and what we are mimicking.
There have been studies behind how and why people do this, and it has been coined the chameleon effect. We subconsciously pick up on micro-level behaviors around us and those behaviors affect how we interact. When someone around us is tense and rigid, it tends to make us tense up as well. If someone is relaxed and at ease, this puts us at ease and we subconsciously relax. It’s why yawns are “contagious” and why some people pick up speech patterns and mannerisms when in a group of people speaking in a style different to their usual one. This phenomenon allows us to interact with others with greater ease.
3 John verse 11 says, “Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.” We are constantly picking up the speech and behavior around us and whether we actively try to imitate them or not, we will do so. Even if it’s on smaller levels, those around you will have an effect on how you speak and behave. John is warning a friend in this letter of a church leader who is being self-serving and giving false teaching. But not only is he warning him away from this danger, he’s also giving an example of who he should imitate instead.
We like to think that we are stronger than we are, when it comes to this particular issue that John is warning against. How many of us have had the thought, “It’s ok, their bad influence isn’t affecting me. In fact, I’m probably having a good influence on them!” We are called as disciples to go out into the world, yes. And we are to set a good example for others to follow. But this requires some maintenance. When we are fully immersed in worldly behavior and speech for a majority of our time, those mannerisms will affect you. Don’t delude yourself otherwise.
1. Guard yourself. Spend frequent time in scripture, prayer, and worship. Arm yourself with spiritual armor and replenish that armor frequently.
2. Balance your time. Most of your time should not be spent being surrounded by sinful behavior. Be sure that most of your time is spent imitating godly mannerisms by surrounding yourself with them.
3. Have accountability. Be sure that you have a reliable, godly support system who will keep you in check. We often don’t even realize when we pick up bad habits, but our closest friends and families will.
4. Keep your focus on imitating good. When you’re out in the world, preaching the gospel and interacting with others, your goal should always be to imitate Christ. Without Jesus visually there in front of you, sometimes that is harder to do, so be sure you have another wise influence in your life that you can imitate as John mentions here. When you are focused on imitating good, it’s much more difficult to imitate evil. Be vigilant.
Reflection:
Who in your life should you be imitating? Are they solid examples of good, Christian behavior? Why? Those traits that tell you they are good to follow are probably traits you want to work on in your own life.
Are you regularly around non-christians and possibly some dangerous habits and behaviors? Probably, as we don’t all work and live in a fully Christian setting. However, it’s important to recognize those potential areas of our life where we might be imitating bad behavior in order to fit in well.
Are there any behaviors or speech you’ve picked up from them that aren’t good or godly? How can you counteract those? What is a good way to behave in those settings while still being able to interact and have a positive influence on your environment?
My prayer for you today is that you have a positive influence on your surroundings and others are led to imitate you! I pray that if you don’t already have a person in your life with godly influence for you to imitate, one steps in. I pray that you find the support and strength you need to go be in the world, but not be a part of it. Be a world changer for Christ today! – Jenn Haynes
Some people have virtually the same accent their entire lives, simply based on where they grew up. Others, like me, pick up accents faster than they can say the word “time.”
Right now, I am living in the South with people from Georgia, Indiana, Canada, Michigan, New York, and Ohio – to name a few. Needless to say, my accent gets confused a lot. The moment when I say time, house, and you guys in one sentence and it comes out in a Southern, Canadian, Michigander accent you know that it can be a little much sometimes.
The same goes for us as individuals. Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Like my crazy conglomerate of accents, we all are influenced by the people we spend the most time with.
Have you ever noticed how you start talking like the people around you? How you pick up their behaviors? How you start saying those little phrases? You are imitating the people you spend time with – without even noticing you are doing so! This can be a great thing or a terrible thing.
If you hang out with people who always are making poor decisions, chances are you’ll eventually join in. On the other hand, if you hang out with people who are following God to the best of their abilities, chances are you will start changing as well.
Be purposeful in imitating what is good and in avoiding evil things.
Spend the most time with the people you want to be like, and imitate what is good.
These chapters continue the genealogy starting with the sons of David. We see some great people listed. David ruled as king, and is considered one of the greatest kings of Israel, although he was definitely not without fault. Solomon, who was granted great wisdom, and used that wisdom to judge the people of Israel. He also had his faults and downfalls. In this list are also people who turned against God’s plans and did evil.
Yesterday, I wrote about the genealogy of the country, and the families. Something I read about this genealogy mentioned the spiritual genealogy that is in this list also. These leaders listed sometimes helped improve the people’s relationship with God, and helped increase their faith. Others tore down their faith. This goes across family and ancestral lines.
We have a genealogy of our faith too, and will be part of others genealogy. There are people who have affected the faith of each of us. Some people have built it up and others have torn it down. The people who affected us were affected by others. The people who founded your church have affected you, because they brought the church family together and passed their knowledge and experience down through generations. Those that founded the Church of God, and the Bible College have affected your faith through training of pastors, among other ways.
All of us are influencing others, and not just those we encounter personally. A Sunday school teacher can plant the seed that develops into a passion to be a pastor, a missionary, a teacher, or something else. A friend can be the seed that brings a new person to church, and causes their family to know God. On the other hand, someone can lead those around them into sin, cause them to doubt God, or something else negative. This could stop them from being an influence for God. Our actions can spread much further than we ever expected.
As a shepherd boy, how could David have ever expected to be king of Israel, or to be an example listed in the Bible that generation after generation of children learn. Please consider the question, “What will my part be in the spiritual genealogy of those around me, and those that I don’t even know?”
I encourage everyone to pray that we will each see how we can build up the faith of those around us, so that they can build the faith of those around them, etc. Our spiritual genealogy is much more important than our family genealogy.
Seek Grow Love 