written by Stephan Joubert
After hearing that S.O.L. (same old line) for the umpteenth time that people are tired, overworked and fed up this time of the year, I catch myself actually believing some of them. Apparently, this silly season also gives people a valid excuse to be rude, ill-mannered, aggressive, insensitive, etc. But then I realize that I’m not really on the moral high-ground here. To be honest, I’m not Mr. Loveable myself. Right now I’m probably just as short-tempered and unfriendly as many others around me. I wish I could explain this strange phenomenon, or conveniently shift the blame somewhere else. But it won’t solve anything. Really, it won’t!
Blame shifting doesn’t work… well at least not since the beginning of time. If you don’t believe me, just ask Adam and Eve. They were the first pro’s who started this highly destructive game. Fortunately, God didn’t buy into their game. God has the full picture. He knows that our lives will have a radically different outcome (here and now, and forever!) when we constantly exercise ourselves in the spiritual discipline of accepting full responsibility for our emotions, words and deeds. Blame shifting seems like an easy way out. It seems so much easier to blame the past, the present, the economy, the government, or the church than to get involved. It seems easier to shift the responsibility to this time of the year than to focus on our inability to deal with stress. But in the end we pay a very high price for all of this. We slowly but surely begin to disconnect from our true self. We deceive the one and only person with whom we share our lives — ourself. What a high price to pay!
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Integrity is a verb… it happens. Integrity is not automatically the same as religious deeds. In Matthew 6:1-18 Jesus says that religion can easily be practiced without integrity. Deeds like prayer, fasting, and help to the poor can be misused to earn respect in the eyes of others. Therefore, followers of Jesus choose deliberately and continuously not to do things merely to be seen by others. God’s approval matters most to them. They choose to live out of the spotlight and to work for Him, not on the stage of life.