Straight Lines
Today’s scripture selection: Proverbs 10
Key verse: Proverbs 10:9
“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.”
When you think of integrity – who is it that comes to mind?
- Christ?
- Gandhi?
- Lincoln?
- Mother Teresa?
- Your own mother or father?
- Your spouse?
- Your boss?
- Yourself?
I hope that at least one or two friends or family members come to mind because, sadly, integrity often seems to be a thing of the past.
One definition states that integrity is all about being honest, or having high moral principles. It also says that the word can be used to describe “the state of being whole or undivided.”
While that second definition usually refers to the integrity of things other than people – as in “territorial integrity” – I can’t help but wonder if it doesn’t apply to people as well.
When you have integrity – you are “whole” as a person – you aren’t “divided” – at conflict with yourself. Others can count on you when the going gets tough. And you can sleep at night, instead of tossing and turning, second guessing yourself and your decisions. And that’s no small thing in this harshly divided and unstable world.
So – seek integrity – and celebrate it when you find it. It’s all too rare a commodity these days.
Prayer: Almighty God, help me to stay on paths straight and true, that I may be whole and trustworthy. AMEN.
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By Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
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