Be Wise About Integrity

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0:00So, we're in Proverbs. We're back in our sermon series now. We'll be back in it for the rest of May, except for the last week, I think. Wisdom Calls is our sermon series on Proverbs 1-9. This extended introduction to the book of Proverbs. Hopefully, you'll get enough introduction and concepts to then read through chapters 10-31 and grapple with the many, many things that it says there. So, now that we're in the second half, we're getting into more specific topics, more specific parts of our life where we're applying wisdom to.

0:44This spring, Nikki and I have planted some trees in our yard, and I'm very interested in how they're going to grow. So, you know, if you buy a piece of furniture or something, you just buy it and put it together and then it's there. But a tree, kind of like, how's it going to grow? What's it going to look like? Are we going to water it enough? Is it going to live? Of course, I want to see these trees putting out leaves and new shoots of branches, but I'm also interested in them being straight, not crooked.

1:24I want them to have a nice shape, you know, 10-20 years from now. I don't know, you know, for our kids to enjoy. I don't know. You know, 50 years down the road, somebody else will be enjoying these trees. But I want them to look nice, you know, and you have to do something about it now. A couple of them, I've put stakes in the ground and I've kind of gently tied the branches to the stake. And the stakes are guides to get them to grow a certain direction.

1:59They're not going to be there forever, but they're going to guide the tree as it grows. There's one tree that I've planted that I've noticed the wind consistently blows a certain direction. And that tree is already kind of bending in the direction of that wind. I've already noticed a curve, and so I've put a stake in the ground. Because if I don't guide it somehow, it's going to end up with that curve forever. 50 years from now, the next owner will be looking at that tree and be like, why is it curved that?

2:30Why did they plant it like that? It's the same with us, people of God. It's the same with everyone, whether we're people of God or not. We're all growing. What direction are we growing in? The winds are blowing all around us. All the time, winds are blowing. Winds, our culture is telling us what's important. Our hearts are telling us what to prioritize, what to go after. We need wisdom. Wisdom is like the stakes in the ground. They're guides for us to be growing straight, growing in the right direction, so that the winds of culture and desire don't blow us crooked.

3:16Today, we're going to do the first half of Proverbs 6, and this section gives us three stakes. Three stakes to put in the ground to guide the development and the growth of our personal character. Let's go hear from our Father. Let's listen to Him as the Father is speaking to us in love and wisdom, wanting us to be tethered to Him and grow in the right direction.

3:48This is Proverbs 6, 1-19. This is the Word of the Lord. Let's pay attention to it. Let's be grateful for it. The infallible and inerrant Word of God coming to us today.

4:03My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given pledge for a stranger, if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, and save yourself. For you have come into the hand of your neighbor. Go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber. Save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

4:36Go to the ant, O sluggard. Consider her ways and be wise without having any chief, officer, or ruler. She prepares her bread in the summer, gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber and want like an armed man. A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger, with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord.

5:23Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly, and a moment he will be broken beyond healing. There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him. Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. A heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil. A false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers. Pray with me.

5:58Lord God, without your intervention in our hearts, in our ears, this word would just bounce right off. It wouldn't penetrate. But because it goes forth in your power, with your promise, we know that it can and will penetrate. Even into the stony places in our hearts. Lord, go into those places. Confront us with the truth. Confront us with wisdom. Confront us with your grace and your mercy. And call us to you, Lord, in new ways. Help us to follow after you, eagerly.

6:37To yield ourselves to you and to grow. Lord, do this for our good and for your glory. And we pray this, Jesus, in your name. So we, there's no, I don't know, there's no charge topics today. Last week, we had a big ol', I see some people wiping their brow. Today, we're going to talk about being wise about our integrity. There's three topics addressed here, and I'm going to wrap them up in that term of integrity. Because these are all practices of integrity, of high character, of strong principles.

7:26These are the practices, we're being called to be people of value. People who have values. And who walk in them. There's a few things to say to get, as we get started today. First of all, integrity, character, it's formed over time by discipline. The only shortcuts are to bad outcomes. Now some of you all need to hear that. There's no shortcut, the only shortcuts are to bad outcomes. No good outcomes arrive quickly or easily. Nothing. Think again of those young trees in our yard.

8:07I am so tempted, and I've tried it, if I see a branch going away, I don't want to, to just kind of like, take my hand and just bend it. Bend it and like, let go. But it just kind of like, goes right back to where it was. If I try to bend it enough and force it, what's going to happen? It's going to snap. There is no quick fix to these trees having a nice shape and growing straight. It's got to be done over time. There is no other option. When it comes to good characters, there are only disciplines that slowly form and shape you.

8:45Okay? You can't microwave your character. It's like cooking barbecue. You can't microwave good brisket. Right? It's got to be smoked for all day. Right?

8:59There is no shortcut to character. So, look at these things as disciplines that we are striving towards. Okay? The second thing is this. Most of your integrity pertains to ordinary life. Your character is revealed not only in how you respond to a big crisis, but also how you respond to everyday needs. It's not just what happens when you see somebody at the side of the road with a flat tire. It's what happens when somebody just gets on your nerves.

9:33It is the everyday that really reveals our character. All the time. And that's why these topics seem so plain. But pay attention. Don't read past them just because they're very simple. Don't downplay them or call them common. We artificially separate the sacred from the common. The truly spiritual things from the common, ordinary things. The Bible doesn't do that. God's Word doesn't do that. Especially Proverbs. These are spiritual disciplines. Don't downplay their spiritual significance.

10:15Okay. Here's the first one. Honor commitments. Honor commitments. The Father begins here by addressing what seems like a really weird occasional situation.

10:33To put up security. It's like paying someone's deposit if they rent an apartment. Or bailing someone out of jail. He mentions giving your pledge. This is like co-signing for a loan or making a promise. Doing something like this is a big deal. Those of you who have done it, I think we've all done it even in small ways. But if you've done something like co-signing for a loan, you know it's a big deal. It's not to be done lightly even with someone that you know.

11:06Once you do it, once you sign on the dotted line, you're in a joint venture. And the other person's actions now affect your life. When I was 20, I got a loan for a used car. It was the first loan I ever took out. My dad co-signed the loan with me. And this was back in the day when after you signed the loan and in the mail you would get this little booklet. And the booklet would be full of the payment coupons. Tell you the time that it was, you guys remember, the amount that was due, the date you had to send it, and you would tear off the coupon and write your check and put it in the mail every month.

11:44Right? And I remember sitting down with my dad. Well, my dad sat down with me. And we were looking at the booklet. And he goes, now listen, son, these are your payments to make. This is your car. But if you don't make a payment, they're going to come after me.

12:06So you better make these payments. If you can't make a payment, you call me. You don't just skip it. Don't just miss it. Call me. Okay? But you have got to make these payments. I'm counting on you because I'm in this with you. Take this seriously. Don't miss any payments. It is a serious thing to put up security and give your pledge for someone that you know well, for a friend, for a family member. To do it for an acquaintance like your neighbor, what it says here, that's risky.

12:38To do it for a stranger, like the other passage, the other verse says here, that's reckless. If things go sideways, if the other person is irresponsible, then you are left snared and caught in the words of your mouth. You're like a wild animal that went out into the woods and found a nice spot and cleared away all the brush and made a nice little spot and then brought out a trap and then carefully laid that trap and set that trap and put some bait in that trap and then looked at it and thought that's a nice looking trap and then you step right in it.

13:22Foolish, right? Now what do you do? Well, this is where the wisdom comes in. The wise parent says if you realize you're in over your head, if you realize you've taken on too much risk, then this is the solution. Seek release.

13:43Seek release. Go, hasten, plead urgently with your neighbor. Ask them to be free from the commitment that you've made. Don't put off or wish the situation would just go away. Give your eyes no sleep until you've had the conversation. Now listen, this is the introduction to Proverbs, right? There's some reason why the inspired author of Proverbs put this in the introduction.

14:13Young people, I need you to pay attention to me here. The big point here is what is implied, not what is said. The implication here is don't break your word.

14:26Honor your commitments. Go and seek release from your neighbor, the one that you have pledged with, the one that you've co-signed with. Don't just walk away and ignore it and act like you never did it. Until you have actually been released, follow through on what you have promised. Honor your commitments. This is a fundamental to integrity. You might have a ton of regret about what you've promised. You might have gotten the raw end of the deal.

15:02You might stand to lose a lot, but once you have given your word, you've got to keep it. Now there is one exception. If you have foolishly made a vow that is contrary to the word of God, don't keep that vow. Break that vow and suffer whatever consequences you have to. There's a story in the Old Testament about a guy named Jephthah who made a very foolish vow and he foolishly followed through on that vow, even though it cost him his daughter's life.

15:35He should have broken that vow, even though he would have stood before the Lord and have been accountable for it. But it was worse to follow through. That's the only exception. If you stand to lose something, if you stand to go bankrupt, that's still not enough to just break your word. Seek release from it, but honor your commitments. We have all been hurt by broken promises. It's tempting to just respond by doing the same.

16:07When we're in over our heads, when we're at risk, when we just don't like being bound to our word, we feel an instinct to protect ourselves by just running away. Just pretending like it never happened. Wisdom says that your integrity is worth more than your assets. Your word is worth more than your money, than your bank account, than your car.

16:35A broken promise costs more than a loss of money. God is telling us, my people, your word ought to mean something. But it only happens when we consistently back it up, even at a loss. When you sign a contract or legal document, you sign your name. Your name ought to be associated with trustworthiness, with reliability, with faithfulness, with accountability. You want someone to say about you, he gave me his word, she gave me her word, and that's enough.

17:14That's enough for me. This is not just applicable to co-signing on an apartment or a loan. It's for any time you say that you're going to do something. It's any time you make an agreement. Take employment, for example, right? Accepting a job offer means following through on that job. Even if you get in and you realize, this is not the work environment that I thought it was. This boss is not as good as I thought he or she would be. I don't like this work as much as I thought I would do.

17:55What do you do? You show up on time, you do your work, even when your boss is terrible, or it was a big disappointment, or you have massive regret about what you have committed to. If you want out, you give your two weeks notice. You don't just not show up. This is basic stuff, right? But it is so important. If we don't do these things, we have no integrity, and we don't reflect wisdom. God calls us to this because integrity comes by practicing faithfulness when things are difficult.

18:33Now, here's the second thing. Speaking of not avoiding things that are difficult, work hard. Verse 6, we shift to a new issue, probably the same audience, but a new issue. Now the parent is calling his son a sluggard. This is not a name you usually hear. I've never been called a sluggard, but I've definitely been a sluggard. Now, listen, this is not a name for someone who is unable to work. This is a name for someone who is unwilling to work, and there is a difference.

19:13This is not unable to work. This is unwilling to work. This is the lazy, the slothful, the tendency in all of us to listen to the eagles and take it easy all the time. It's 5 o'clock somewhere, right? It's quitting time somewhere, and I just don't feel like it today or tomorrow or the next day. No matter what type of work it is, we can dread it and we avoid it sometimes. And the problem is getting worse.

19:51These stats are now 10 years old. I shudder to think what they are now. In 2015, labor statistics showed this. For every one working aged man who was unemployed and looking for a job, there were three who were unemployed and not looking for a job.

20:10Now think of that. Three times as many working age men, unemployed, not even looking for a job. What are they doing with their time? Well, they were asked, you know what they said? 2,000 hours a year on screens. That's a full-time job. Playing video games, scrolling.

20:40This is a problem. According to the author of Proverbs and according to the Bible as a whole. And the reason is simple. We were made for work. We were made for work. Work is not a four-letter word. I mean, it is a four-letter word, but you know what I mean. Work is not a curse word. Human beings were made in the image of God for a purpose so that they could do the specific task that only image bearers can do. Sometimes Christians take more of their thinking about work from the world than from the Scriptures.

21:26Work is not inherently bad. You know how we know that? Because work existed before sin came into the world. In Genesis 1 and 2, we read that God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. His first job was to name the animals. Woman was created from man to be what? A helpmate. A strong, essential helper for the work that they had to do together. And together, male and female, God blessed them and said, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over every living thing that moves on the earth.

22:07All of this was before the serpent came slithering along. Before sin entered the world. Before mankind's rebellion. All of it. When God pronounced a curse on work after Adam's sin, the ground would now resist the keeping and the subduing tasks. Work got harder. We all know this. Work is hard and frustrating and futile sometimes. Toilsome. Work got harder after sin, but work did not start after sin. We still bear the image of God. And we still have the command from God to work.

22:48work to cultivate and create and care. That's why it's a problem to avoid work, to be a slugger. It is yet another act of rebellion against God and His purposes for you.

23:06It's like a firefighter getting trained and equipped and decked out to fight a fire and then the bell rings and he says, nah. But you've been trained, you've been equipped, you've been set up to go and do that very thing. And the bell rings, nah. Call of Duty seems more fun.

23:29What's the solution to this problem? Look down. No further down. No all the way down. Get on your knees. Go to the ant. Go to the ant. Here in God's creation at one of the smallest levels we have an example of how He has hardwired a work ethic into His creatures. The ant prepares her bread in summer. Ants don't rely on others to feed them. Ants don't go to the fridge and say, mom, there's nothing to eat.

24:09They go out and find their own food. They make their own food. They find it. The ant is also forward thinking. She gathers her food and harvest. Instinctively, they know the future need and the present opportunity and they say, let's get moving now to take advantage. Come on, guys, help me out. We can lift this thing if we all pull together. And they do. Carrying things many times their size. They do all of this without having any chief officer or ruler.

24:41They don't even have to be forced. They don't have to be bossed around. They don't have to be given a job description. They just go do it. They're industrious without a whip or a boss. They are inwardly driven. Go to the ant. And this call, this passage calls for us to look to the ant to overcome the sluggard that's within each of us, because there is one within each of us. We were made to be more than consumers. We were made to be more than consumers.

25:17We were made to imitate our father and work. Now, listen, we need to think broadly about this. OK, whether work can be outside the home, inside the home or both. Work can is blue collar, white collar work can be for pay or not for pay. Work is whether you're in school or whether you're retired. There is there's good work for any one, any one of us to do. All right. And dignity to be found in it. Different people are called to different kinds of work based on their circumstances and their giftings and their capabilities.

26:00OK, if you have a bad back, I'm not saying go dig a ditch, pray and look around and dive into the work that God has called you to the specific work that he's called you into and do it with your head up. Don't let those thorns make your head bowed low like you have are suffering under something that is foreign to you. No, God has given you his image so that you can do the very things that you're doing, caring for other people, creating, cultivating, serving, providing for your family.

26:40Providing for yourself. Helping your neighbor when a tree has fallen in her yard and she can't move it. The list goes on and on. You were made for this, so work hard. It's part of your integrity. OK, here's the last one. Live peaceably. The final section comes into focus with a little detail of Hebrew literature. Look at verse 16. It says there are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him. This pattern, six, seven, this is not Hebrew preteen slang.

27:21It's a signal. It's a signal in Hebrew poetry. OK, it's a way of saying the important item in the list is the seventh item. That's what it means. Pay attention to the seventh item in the list, the last item in the list. That's the big point. The first six things in the list are not a surprise that the Lord hates them. Of course, the Lord hates lying and murder and evil. But then comes the seventh. The one who sows discord among brothers. Among all the others, that's the one that gets the emphasis.

27:59That's the one that gets the underline. This means that God hates troublemaking as much as murder, which really ought to make us pay attention. One who sows discord is a worthless person. Verse 12 says nothing he says or does can be trusted. His speech is crooked, his eyes mislead, his feet misdirect, his finger accuses. The intent is to start fights, to rile people up, to pit them against each other. This is abomination to God and it should not be taken lightly.

28:41Here's the point. Being argumentative is not godly. That's a rebuke from the Lord. For some of us who tend towards this, being argumentative is not godly. It's easier than ever to do it right now, though. Social media allows and encourages you to say what you think just to provoke a reaction, to drop a little word bomb in the comment section and then just laugh as people get all stirred up like hornets, to post something inflammatory just to let off some steam, trolling, rage baiting.

29:31You know these terms, especially if you're under 20, you know these terms. I mean, what is rage baiting, right? It is exactly what Proverbs is talking about here. How God hates it.

29:46But this is not just about our online interactions. This is about gossip. This is about clicks. It's about that moment in a conflict when you're tempted to say the meanest thing that you can just to hurt the other person. It's about winning an argument at all costs, no matter what happens to the relationship. The way we treat other people reveals a lot about our character. Rather than being people who thrive on conflict, we are to be people who savor peace.

30:18Who love it when people get along and get along with us. Peace is precious and wise people go after it. Romans 12, 18 says, if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. You have a part to play in that. Speak graciously, act genuinely and make it your aim to get along with everyone. Yes, everyone.

30:47This threefold look at personal integrity, it pushes us. It pushes all of us. Following through, working hard, seeking peace. Everyone in this room, including me, feels at least one of these three things is lacking and needs some attention. Listen, if you're feeling like that, brothers and sisters, look to Jesus. The one who had perfect integrity. Think of this. He gave his pledge not merely to strangers, but to enemies. He put himself up as security for us, even though he knew it was costly.

31:28He didn't ask for release. He kept his word and he gave his life as a ransom for many. And he did the work. He worked hard. His righteous life, his atoning death, his victorious resurrection. And he did it for what reason? To make peace. To make peace between us and God and between us and each other.

31:56Jesus is the man with perfect integrity for all of us who lack it. By faith, we who lack integrity are united to him and we are counted righteous and his spirit lives in us and changes us and draws us towards him. He leads us and guides us and grows us. You too can walk in integrity, but only through giving yourself to Jesus. That's the only way. Only through giving yourself to Jesus. By submitting to the sanctifying power of the spirit. Trust in him.

32:32Pursue integrity, brothers and sisters, and live wisely.