Integrity

Integrity
Words of Faith 9-18-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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1 Samuel 12
[1] Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you. [2] Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. [3] Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right." [4] "You have not cheated or oppressed us," they replied. "You have not taken anything from anyone's hand." [5] Samuel said to them, "The Lord is witness against you, and also his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." "He is witness," they said.

Saul was now the newly inaugurated first king of Israel. Samuel's time as a leader, priest, and judge was fading. He was an old man, but he could still see the dangers ahead as Israel moved from a theocracy ruled solely by God to a monarchy. There were dangers in this transition that Samuel needed to warn the people about, but he first needed to remind them of their trust in him. He needed to clearly establish his integrity before them.
This whole conversation may sound strange, but Samuel needed to reaffirm the level of trust that the people had always had in him. It may sound odd, but it was important to recall all the ways that Samuel had not failed them in his leadership. No. He had not taken anything unlawfully, cheated anyone, oppressed anyone, or accepted any bribes. Samuel had been one of those rare leaders against whom no one could bring any accusation.
It seems odd, but it is not a bad way to measure leadership. In fact, it is very telling. If you think about it, we often look at the many accomplishments of leaders but fail to notice how these accomplishments are negated by incidents, even if rare, of dishonesty, cheating, bribery, and oppression. For Samuel, these were not things that could be overlooked, even for the sake of expedience. He staked his credibility on the integrity of his many years of service.
We might do well to do the same. The measure of a leader should not be based solely on the "results" we see without regard for the failures that were part of the process. Leadership should be measured very much in the character that is beneath those results. It makes no sense to applaud economic advances or victories in battle if a leader's fundamental character is flawed.
Some will argue that the "bottom line" is all that matters no matter how you get there. That was not the case with Samuel; it should not be with us. Motive matters, and character counts. Don't fall for anything else. This was Samuel's measure of credibility, and it is the measure of credibility for each of us.

Heavenly Father, show me what it is like to walk closely with You. Build my sensitivity for integrity. Reduce my tolerance for sin, especially in myself. Build my credibility rooted in integrity. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.