CREDIBILITY, COURTESY AND REQUEST FOR PRAYER

Greetings -

Scriptures are from the King James Bible.

Recently I did a post http://lioneaglesoar.blogspot.com/2011/04/scripture-joy-and-we-all-need-to-change.html that stated that we all need to change. 

Our Lord revealed to me that one reason that this has been posted today is that others are battling with this matter... 

Of late, my frequent prayer to our Lord is that I need to change.  I have prayed that I will exhibit more love, forgiveness, compassion, and mercy - because certainly I need all of that from our Lord and others.  We are commanded to sow to the Spririt and to walk in the Spirit.  

My confession here is that I'm probably not as spiritual as I should be when it comes to credibility/integrity issues, especially relative to Christians.  When I was in the workforce, numerous people, including managers, complimented me on my excellent work ethic.  I received more than several monetary awards for my work performance.  And those monetary awards were rendered to me before I became spiritual.   

My attendance record was commendable and I habitually arrived at work at least a half hour before my shift began.  Responsiveness was very important to me.  I returned calls, provided timely feedback, kept my words, and was consistently courteous.  Did I falter in some work practices?  Of course, but overall, my performance was consistently excellent and my yearly appraisals from my supervisors reflected that. 

Now that I have a home-based business, those excellent qualities and attributes continue to be practiced. 

Some of you may have read my post titled, "CUSTOMER SERVICE IS AN ART."  Here are the links: http://lioneaglesoar.blogspot.com/2010/10/customer-service-is-art.html and http://lioneaglesoar.blogspot.com/2010/10/conclusion-of-customer-service-is-art.html

Primarily, my confession here is that I'm challenged, in particular, with the amount of times that I have dealt with Christians who don't keep their words, who are, typically, not inclined to provide feedback relative to business commitments, who are discourteous, who consistently lack integrity, and who are regularly disrespectful and unappreciative.     

According to scripture, we are to love, to forgive, to show mercy and compassion.  But what about what it says in scripture about doing things decently and in order? - 1 Corinthians 14:40. 

And the scripture tells us not to judge.  But what about the scripture that says in 1 Corinithians 2:15, "But he that is spiritual judgeth all things,..."?

And what about Hebrews 13:18, "...willing to live honestly."?

And Proverbs 19:1
"Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity,..."

I need help, people.  Please pray for me in this area.  And please share how you deal with and overcome people, especially those who profess to be Christians, who typically lie, cheat, and have lack of credibility and integrity.  I speak of from a business and personal standpoint.  I know that we are instructed to trust the Lord and to put not confidence in man but I need help please on how to conquer this battle...

It could very well be that I'm wrong for my lack of understanding for such people and their less than honorable habits.  Indeed, I have my shortcomings, as well.  Of course, I do know that there are circumstances that prevent people from keeping their words...but when it is their consistent conduct, that is where I lack tolerance.  Perhaps, they have done as I have and sought the Lord for the help to change their less than godly conduct. 

There are people who have loads of baggage from their pasts, who have been abused, and who haven't learned how to practice honorable habits.  May our Lord help us all to seek Him for deliverance so that we can purpose to do things decently and in order with integrity and honesty steadfastly demonstrated.  It is not reasonable to keep making excuses when we can do better if we work with our Lord to conquer.  Our Lord knows what we can do better and what we cannot change...   

I certainly don't want to be in a place where I do unrighteous judgments of people but is it reasonable to righteously judge habitual lack of integrity and credibility from those who profess to know GOD?    Again, 1 Corinthians 2:15, "But he that is spiritual  judgeth all things,..."

 Our Lord told me to re-post the following:

CREDIBILTY

Greetings -

Do you know of people, "Christians" even, who are not credible?  Credibility and integrity is very important to the Lord.  True worshippers of GOD worship Him in spirit and in truth.  Our Father expects us to be consistently honest and noble in our thoughts, words, and deeds.

Credibility is vital in every area of our lives.  A couple of years ago, I met a "Christian" "minister" who got paid cash for jobs and did not report the income.  I mentioned it to him - he offered some sort of "justification."

Have you heard people describe "little white" lies?  A lie is a lie is a lie.

Is your word your bond?  Can people consistently believe that you mean what you say and that you say what you mean?  Do you arrive when indicated, and keep appointments on a prompt and reliable basis?  In those instances where you cannot keep your words, do you alert the concerned people to inform of changes?  In relationships, business and personal, are you politely responsive?  What about being considerate of the time and needs of others?  It is wise to be mindful of guarding when others fail to be considerate of our time and needs, as well.

I have observed adults who demand respect from youth yet do not give respect to youth.  Children/youth are to be respected as well as adults.  We need to tell them "please," "thank you," and "excuse me" just as we should say such to adults.  We cannot reasonably expect honesty and respect from youth if they do not consistently observe those qualities in demonstration from us.  The same can be said, in some measures, relative to relationships with adults.

GOD is love. GOD is truth. GOD is credible.

Prayer:

Father, in the name of JESUS, please help us to embrace truth in every affair of our lives.  We need to be of quality character conformed to Your image with the mind of Christ.  Help us to be reliable, dependable and credible in personal and business relationships.  Most of all, Lord, please help us to keep it real with You and those whom You have in our lives.

Thank You, Lord, - Amen 

Proverbs 19:22
...and a poor man is better than a liar.

Proverbs 6:16-19
These six things doth the Lord hate; yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

Revelation 21:8
...and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:...

Proverbs 4:18
But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

Here are some of the comments that were entered when the subject post was originally posted on October 12, 2010:

Dee said...

I do know Christians that have done or said similar things that you mentioned above and it disappoints me enough to be careful that I do not do the same things.  We have the tendency to forget that the Lord sees our heart..we can deceive our selves but not the Lord.  I admire you for letting the Lord use your writing skill to glorify Him and reach out to others with the truth.

MTJ said...

Hi Sandra,

I believe that just as God's word is representative of His integrity, my word is representative of me.  If I don't honor my words, what good is my word?  That's why I don't commit myself to anything quickly.  If I'm asked to commit to something which I know I won't honor, I'd rather say, "no," than offer up some excuse to explain why I couldn't make it.

People may easily forget what I say, but folks have a knack for remembering what I did.  Christian and credibility are paired because credibility has to do with honesty, truth, reliability and integrity.  If I'm not honest, truthful, reliable and lacking integrity, what does that say about my witness to Christ?  I'm a poor example of a follower of Christ.

Blessings and peace.

MTJ

B. Niles said...

Great post Sandra. I agree with all the comments.  I use Col.3:17 as my guide, "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus..."

I try to let that govern what I say and do, how I say and do it and whether I say and do it at all.  Because if I say it, I'm bound by my word.  So I'd rather say no to something and then come back and say yes when I'm sure, than say yes, and have to come back and say, sorry, I can't do it.  James says, "We all stumble in many ways.  If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check" James 3:2.

I'm not perfect yet, but this one thing I do, "I press toward the mark..."

More comments are shown under the original post date of October 12, 2010.  Here is the link to the original post.  http://lioneaglesoar.blogspot.com/2010/10/credibility.html

Another re-post:

COURTESY SCALE

Greetings:

What do we weigh on the courtesy scale?

Do we say "please," "thank you," and "excuse me?"

Do we greet before we engage people?  Example: We are at work and in our initial contacts for the day(s), we approach colleagues about matters - do we greet them first with "Good morning," "hi," "hello" etc?  Or do we just forego greetings and start in with our communication?

The first "good morning" I speak is to the Lord - whose air we breathe.

What about sharing?  Are we gung-ho for receiving but selfish about giving - not just things - but our time and energy to the interests of others?

The other night someone told me that a certain hotel was not inclined to host anymore Christians because of how discourteously they behaved when they stayed there.  That was about the second person who told me about that account.

Another account that I heard was about Christians who lack courteous demeanors and who fail to show love.

What about this?  Do we keep our words?  Of course, extenuating circumstances can necessitate changes/postponements/cancellations becoming necessary but when those are the cases, do we make contacts to inform of changes?  Or do we just discourteously leave people hanging?

Today in the December 2010 issue of GQ magazine I read an interview of Vice President Biden.  This is what he said that his father told him, "You're a man of your word.  Without your word, you're not a man."

May GOD help us all to habitually practice courtesy and to be people of excellence in the areas of love, integrity, credibility, and responsiveness - among other godly pursuits.

Let us be Spiritually fruity Christians in all affairs of life - for that is the Word of GOD - in practice.

Note: Even when we must be stern and firm - love should be a habitual focus.

Here are some of the comments that were entered when the subject post was originally posted on December 8, 2010:

Marijo said...

Great piece that we need to hold up like a mirror and see who we are reflecting!

I received this, via e-mail, from Marijo (She gave her permission to have it posted on this blog):

On Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 5:41 PM, Marijo wrote:

Know what one of my pet peeves is? when you thank someone (especially a clerk or someone who is helping you with something - waitress etc) and they say "not a problem" - what happened to "you are welcome?"  Not a problem is really saying "it didn't bother me that much or wasn't a difficulty for me".... to me that is a self centered answer rather than an outgoing and helpful answer - I realize it is probably a generational thing like saying "cool" was when I was growing up but really.....

I received this, via e-mail, from Karen (She gave her permission to have it posted on this blog):

Karen to me

show details 7:13 PM (19 minutes ago) 

I really liked this capsule - good questions.  I find it appalling that Christians have a reputation at hotels for being discourteous!  I would like to know the whole story there.  I know that sometimes nonbelievers scrutinize our actions, looking for hypocrisy, to make themselves feel better.  I don't condone discourteous behaviour, but sometimes people take offense just so that they can complain.

I think integrity is very important.  I have returned to stores when they gave me too much change, even one time when a grocery cashier missed charging me for about $60 of items.  I told the customer service rep that maybe God was testing my integrity.  I don't tell this story because I think I am better than other people, I just think that all Christians should be people of integrity.

Karen

Julie Reynolds said...

Amen! I like this post.  I think that we do need to do our best in our lives to become more like Jesus, as Christians, that should be what we strive for.  However, not every one understands that that is what a Christian is.  Unfortunately, there are many who think that they can act any way they want to, because God will forgive them.  They don't think about the fact that what they do could be harmful to another person.

Ruth said...

This post gives a lot of food for thought.  It is sad when Christians are frowned upon because of their lack of courtesy.

Blessings, Ruth

Sharon Kirby said...

Such a very good post, Sandra.  My husband and I love all things having to do with the Old West.  We attend several events a year, and many are attended by the old actors from TV and movie westerns.  One thing we are ALWAYS impressed by is their politeness. They are gentlemen -

The art of courtesy seems to be missing lately from our culture.  Society concentrates so much on a "give me" mindset, that there's not much room for a "help you" thought!

I was taught manners growing up, and I practice them faithfully.  I taught my sons the same thing, and they are polite also.  I'm so glad that THAT stuck with them!!

In a selfish society, a "Good Morning" or a "Please" or "Thank You" goes a long way!!  I have a strong idea that Jesus was a VERY polite person - and always had time to be kind.

As always, Sandra - a good and timely word. THANK YOU!

GOD BLESS!

More comments are shown under the original post date of December 8, 2010.  Here is the link to the original post
http://lioneaglesoar.blogspot.com/2010/12/courtesy-scale.html

Thank you for your prayers and help with this matter.

Sandra