integrity.

We talk about life being full of opportunities.  We say that we have the potential for great things if only we look for opportunities and take them.

But what if the opportunity is for deceit?  What if the opportunity in front of you is one that compromises your character?  That compromises that which you know is right?

Well, with opportunity we must have discernment or we will find ourselves in a world of hurt and a world of debt with moving violations for illegal left turns.  Sigh.  The mistakes we make do not have to define us, but we should definitely learn from them.

Sleeping those extra five minutes in the morning instead of being in the bathroom on coverage.  Taking that left turn at 5:30 when the sign says no from 4 to 6.  Driving a little faster than you know you should.  Signing off the line on the list that says you completed the checklist up to kitchen standards, when you know you didn't sweep out all of the corners and maybe left the lowest shelves un-wiped.  Walking away with the extra few dollars in change from the cashier's mistake.

Each of these, while minor and generally consequence-free, are tiles of a greater mosaic.  They reflect a deeper element of character that pervades one's way of thinking.  It's about working hard at all that you do, without cutting corners, in order to preserve godly character, to live up to the potential of who God created you to be.

Integrity.

Who am I when no one is watching and why is it different than who I am the rest of the time?
How do we so easily forget that what God thinks of us is so much more important than what others think and that God knows and sees everything we do?
We are such a wicked and sinful people.  Thank God for the Gospel so that in Christ we can be more loved and more accepted than we ever dared hope.