Proverbs 28 || What Is Integrity?

Proverbs 31:10-31 speaks of the "virtuous wife" that men should strive to find, and women to strive to live up to. This chapter speaks both to the man and the woman. For men, not only should we look for such a woman, but we need to pursue our relationship with God just as much and live up to our standard so that we are worthy of such a woman. For women, we should strive to live up such a description and live a life fearing the Lord and pursuing Him with honor. We breakdown what these standards are the even more how we should respond to such text.

Proverbs 30:5-6 says "Every word of God proves true, he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.” With our never-ending access to the internet and different ideas, we are constantly being fed from the world and its "truth." This often bleeds into our worldview and we start to add, change, or ignore Scripture. We break down the dangers of such a practice and how we can discern better through the lens of Christ. 

Proverbs 29:11 says, 'A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back."  So is it wrong for us to vent to others?  Or is there a deeper lesson to learn about the truth of venting and its benefits and dangers? In this episode, we explore both sides and approach the concept of venting with some Scripture and guidance that hopefully will give you some better direction the next time you vent.

“Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭28:6‬ This episode we break down what the heck this word "integrity" means and explore the importance of it in Scripture. We have become master marketers of ourselves via social media and have trained ourselves to live separate lives in secrecy. The Scriptures tell us that we must choose integrity, we must choose to be honest with ourselves, and seek to be the same person publicly and privately.

Proverbs 27:5-6 says “Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” Calling out our friends can be so terrifying and nerve-wracking. It's not something we teach or talk about very often. Yet, it's critical to the body of believers that we hold each other accountable and call each other out in loving ways that redirect us to the cross. This episode breaks down some reasons why we may struggle and then a step-by-step analysis on how to know when to rebuke. 

Proverbs 26: 12 says "Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”  It's pretty common for us to believe we are wise in our own eyes, but there can be some serious danger to such thinking. Claiming to be wise only puts us lower than the fool and closed off to correction, learning, and growing simply because of our pride...

Proverbs 25:28 says "A man with no self-control is like a city broken into and without walls." If the city has no walls, what do you think that communicates to neighboring enemies who see it? Of course, they see it as an opportunity to attack, they see a weakness. The same goes for us. The enemy is prowling like a lion looking for someone to devour. If he sees our walls of self-control are down in one area, he will bring calamity to many more areas of our lives. If we can practice self-control across all areas of our lives, we will find more success than we imagine in our battle against the flesh.

Proverbs 24: 17-18 says "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles. Lest the Lord see it and be displeased and turn away his anger from him." Politics season is on the rise with mid-terms coming up in a couple months. That means lot's of bashing and lots of image destroying for both political parties. If Scripture tells us not to celebrate our enemies losses and love them instead, then we should head into this new season with a new heart posture towards those who we consider "enemies."

Proverbs 23:6-8 says "Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies, for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten, and waste your pleasant words." Do you consider yourself to be a sharing person? Do you typically share when you can? Or do you only share when prompted or pressured? It can be really easy for us to selfishly hold on to what is ours, but the more we do, the more we hold ourselves back from opportunities to bless others. 

Verse 13 says " The sluggard says "There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets." In other words, the lazy person will make the craziest excuses for why not to do something. Usually we point fingers and think of others who do that, but in actuality, may find ourselves blind to the very excuses we make. This episode will challenge you to think about your goals, your dreams, and the things that get in the way of you getting there.