Dear Friends,
Solomon was a man who possessed great wisdom for everyone except
himself. He wrote over 3000 proverbs, but unfortunately, he found it
difficult to practice what he preached. The man who wrote: “Above all else
guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life” (Prov. 4:23) failed to obey
his own counsel. As Solomon grew old, “his wives turned his heart after other
gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of
David his father had been.” (1Kings 11: 4)
There was a lot of wisdom in his words, but not much of that
wisdom translated itself into his walk. There was a lack of consistency between
what he professed and practiced, between what he believed and how he behaved.
This is our struggle as well. We need consistency in our life. We
need to not only “be hearers of the word” as James says, but “doers of the
word.” When people examine our lives, they must find integrity in every part of
it. They need to see a consistency between what we say and what we do.
A number of years ago, The New York City Department of
Transportation was embarrassed. They found that four of the top ten
parking violators in the department were those responsible for ticketing
illegally parked vehicles. A computer check by the Parking Violations Bureau showed
that four staff members owed between $5,000 and $8,000 each in unpaid parking
tickets. How could the traffic department hope to have the respect of the
public when it was not living up to its own principles?
Leaders need to have credibility if they are to be successful, and
one important gauge of credibility is the consistency of their walk and their
talk. This is particularly in the church.
A while ago a noted TV religious personality was reported to have purchased
a several million-dollar home in addition to a new Mercedes- Benz and a Rolls-
Royce. When asked about this discrepancy of message and ministry, he said that
he and his wife, “Just add had to have a little piece of their own.”
I thought of what one noted religious leader once asked: “If Jesus
had $100,000 and was ministering in Haiti, would he
have spent it on a Rolls-Royce?
Paul taught Timothy that a “leader must also have a good
reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the
devil’s trap.” (1 Timothy 3:7)
Could we honestly speak the words of Paul to the church at
Thessalonica when he declared, “You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy,
righteous, and harmless we were among you who believed?” (1 Thess. 2:10)
Paul tried hard to practice what he preached and so should we. Let
us be careful not to encourage others to do as we say, unless we are willing to
do as we say.
Chuck Swindoll says, “Consistency is the jewel worth wearing; the
anchor worth weighing; The thread worth weaving; and the battle worth winning.”
I like those words, but I don't want to just like them, I want to
live as if I really believed and practiced them, and so to you. Let's live in
such a way that no one can ever accuse us of living and inconsistent Christian
life.
Yours in ministry,
Tom
P.S. “He does not believe who does not live according to his
belief” Sir Thomas Fuller (1380-1471)
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