Psalm 26:11
I live with integrity. So redeem me and show me mercy.
This past weekend my cell phone was stolen from the hotel room my family and I were staying in. We had been on the beach and had decided to ride bikes to eat lunch. So we went up to the room, got money, I plugged in my phone and then rode bikes to our lunch destination.
Upon my return an hour later, the phone and the charger were gone. We called the police. Ultimately, a 19 year old kid in housekeeping confessed. He lost his job and was charged with larceny.
Ouch.
I can’t help but wonder the trail of bad decisions that led up to the brazenness to callously steal. But one thing is for sure: one REALLY bad decision between 2:00 and 2:15pm on a random Saturday, changed the trajectory of this young man’s life.
My heart hurts him. Though angry on Saturday, by Sunday morning, I was reading the Lord’s prayer. Jesus tells us to ask for forgiveness of our sins, but to also forgive those who sin against us.
This young man sinned against me and my family. He violated our safe space. He stole something of great value ($900+). Though insurance will cover some of it, I still have to pay the deductible. I also now have to invest the TIME in replacement, etc. (Time is something I seem to lack these days.) You know the drill. Not fun. Other than email, I’m officially off the grid for a week minimally.
Regardless, I choose to forgive this young man. I want my sins forgiven, so I have no other choice, but to choose to forgive. In this choice, I’m finding myself led to pray for him. I’m praying he’ll begin making good decisions. That he’ll become a man of integrity.
He did make the choice to confess – good decision!
He did make the choice to return the phone – another good decision!
He did not return the phone with the sim card in it. The sim card is the computer of the phone. – Bad decision.
The police have given him 24 hours to return the sim card in order for additional charges not to be filed.
My prayer today is that the Lord will show the proper path to this one who has gone astray. (Psalm 25:8) Will you join me in praying?
It’s easy for me to think I’m a woman of integrity because I don’t steal cell phones, I haven’t killed anyone and I do the right thing MOST of the time.
But when I study God’s Word – I see something a little different. This 19 year old kid and I have more in common than I’d like to think. There’s a link between the decisions we make (good or bad; big or small) and our integrity.
I want to be a woman of integrity. Do you?
Next Post: Identifying if we are Women of Integrity
I was contemplating something similar yesterday as I was reading Psalm 139. Verses 19-22 talk about hating those who hate God. I know we are to love and pray for everyone (and forgive), so I find it difficult to fully understand when it's ok to "hate." I then read a commentary by Charles Spurgeon that is good food for thought. "Verse 21 – Do not I hate them, O LORD, that hate thee?" Charles says, "He (David) was a good hater, for he hated only those who hated good. Of this hatred he is not ashamed, but he sets it forth as a virtue to which he would have the Lord bear testimony. To love all men with benevolence is our duty; but to love any wicked man with complacency would be a crime. To hate a man for his own sake, or for any evil done to us, would be wrong; but to hate a man because he is the foe of all goodness and the enemy of all righteousness, is nothing more nor less than an obligation. The more we love God the more indignant shall we grow with those who refuse him their affection."