ArticlesReader.com Menu
Newest Articles
Most Viewed Articles
ArticlesReader.com RSS
Submit Article
Login
Signup
Search the articles

Articles Main Categories
Advice
Animals
Automobiles
Business
Career
Communications
Computer Programming
Computers
Entertainment
Environment
Family
Fashion
Finance
Food
Health & Medical
Home & Garden
Humor
Internet Business
Internet Marketing
Legal
Leisure & Recreation
Marketing
Other
Politics
Reference & Education
Religion
Self Improvement
Sports
Technology & Science
Travel
Writing
Subscribe
Receive alert message from us when new articles submitted to our site for free.

Enter your name

Enter your email

Syndicate

















Related Products
Home::Religion

By What Standard?

Author : Terry Dashner
Faith Fellowship Church PO Box 1586 Broken Arrow, OK 74013, 918-451-0270

May I ask you a question?

Is character important to you? Think about your character for a moment. Most people when asked to consider the importance of character agree that everyone should have a good character. And why shouldn’t everyone to have character. Everything benefits from it. However if you aren’t on the list, there isn’t much point in preaching character to others. Unless you consider character important in your life, then you can’t demand it of others.

For example, suppose you like to “fudge” your integrity. Every now and then, you take home a few items from work. You justify your actions by saying that your employer makes good profits and won’t miss the small items you take from his shop. In your mind you are not stealing from your employer, just helping yourself to small items of insignificance.

Then one day your son takes $10 from your wallet without your permission. When you discover what he has done, you call him to account for his actions. He tells you it’s no big deal. He tells you that he has seen the items you bring home from the shop and listens to you justify your actions. Then he says, “Dad if you can take things from your job, then why can’t I take money from you without asking?”

This reality hit me hard one day. I’ve always expected others to be honest and upright towards me, but my integrity towards others was relative at best. No, I didn’t cheat or steal from my fellowman, but I did justify “fudging” once and a while. I could justify leaving out some taxable income because I resented the IRS. I thought nothing about taking a few items from my employer from time to time. After all he could afford the losses. I could always justify what I did, but I was never willing to admit that I was stealing. Then one day, like I said, it hit me. What if I owned a business and I had several employees taking home company property at will. I would feel violated. And rightly so because I would be the one taking the loss. I began to see my actions as contrary to Biblical ethics, and finally I admitted to myself that I was wrong. That’s when I changed my behavior.

Remember the name Ken Lay? He was the Enron guy charged with 11 counts of fraud and conspiracy. We hear the name and think—what a low life. Greed controlled him. But stop and think for a minute. Ken Lay didn’t wake up one day and decide to commit fraud and conspiracy on a grand scale of billions. He probably started out cheating in small ways that could easily be justified in his own mind. Without coming clean and denouncing his greed, he kept on until it got out of control and slammed him.

Did you know that when the Great Wall of China was completed, it was breached three times. That’s right. No, the enemy didn’t break through by breaking down part of the wall. The enemy didn’t go over the wall. The enemy came right through its gates three times. How did this happen? They bribed the gate keepers. The Great Wall of China—a man made structure visible from outer space—was compromised by the gate keeper’s lack of integrity. Character is important, very important.

Jesus said that His disciples would know other disciples by the fruit they produced. You may call an apple tree a peach tree all day long, but there is no argument when the apple tree’s fruit is visible in season. Someone may claim Christianity by his words, but his character tells all. For a man to merely speak like a Christian is not true Christianity. His character will identify him for what he is.

Whatever sacrifices you make to strengthen your character not only honors God but honors you too. You can’t let the low moral standards of the world influence you to act likewise. You must lift high the banner of godly living in the midst of worldliness. You must hold yourself to a higher standard. The standard is higher than the stars above you. The standard is the Son of God, and He is seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Ask Him to reflect His character in you.

Keep the faith. And stay the course.

Terry Dashner.

Faith Fellowship Church
PO Box 1586
Broken Arrow, OK 74013

About the Author

Pastors a small church in Broken Arrow, OK. Writes daily devotions for his congregation. Also Writes articles that underscore the faith of America's founding fathers.

Spam emails More free articles

Related articles


  1. The Rapture
  2. Rapture and the United States in the End times Explained
  3. 2nd Coming of Jesus
  4. Battle of Armageddon
  5. 7 Year Tribulation
  6. Rise of the Antichrist, False Prophet and a 10 Nation Confederacy
  7. Restoration of the Jewish People and The Rebuilding of the Jewish Temple
  8. End Time Events - The Miscellaneous Signs
  9. End Time Events and the 2nd Coming of Jesus
  10. Why Christian and Atheist Libertarians Get Along
  11. Not Just Hearing the Word
  12. Translator Robs Beauty of Words
  13. Pagan Philosophy, Unbelief, and Irrationalism
  14. Rebuilding Society and The Tax Protest Movement: Part Three
  15. Rebuilding Society and The Tax Protest Movement: Part Two
  16. Rebuilding Society and The Tax Protest Movement
  17. Mini Skirts To Church?
  18. Human Evolution Timeline: Bible Quote and Science
  19. Rely On God In Overcoming Your Persistent Fears
  20. Thought Produces Desire, Produces Results
  21. Teach Your Child to Pray
  22. Possibilities in Prayer
  23. Are You Missing What It Takes To Resist Sin?
  24. Crazy in Love
  25. The Need for Biblically Minded Engineers
More related feeds
OGC(R) Adopts CityGML Encoding Standard
CityGML is an open data model framework and XML-based encoding standard for the storage and exchange of virtual 3D urban models. CityGML is an application schema of the OpenGIS Geography Markup Language 3 (GML3) Encoding Standard ...

iNET Interactive Acquires Search Marketing Standard
Search Marketing Standard launched in the first month of 2006, with many supporters. Boris Mordkovich & Eugene Mordkovich of MordComm founded and finances the magazine. iNET Interactive's Director of Marketing, Kevin Gold has been ...

Gigabyte M528 MID: 3G HSDPA is standard, backtracks Expansys
Fresh news on the Gigabyte M528 saga, as Expansys do an abrupt about-turn and confirm that yes, the Mobile Internet Device does in fact include a 3G HSDPA modem. Previously the reseller had suggested that the MID, which is up for ...

It's 'Alright!' for some
The curse of Neil Kinnock rides again. Joe Biden, one of the early Democrat contenders for the Presidency, is under consideration as Barack Obama's running mate. But according to Washington sources, Biden's chances are hampered by his ...

TIA Revises Project 25 Testing Standard for Trunked Radio Equipment
CABC-A, which defines methodology for testing the interoperability of subscribers’ and fixed network equipment (FNE) in a trunked systems environment designed to the complementing documents that comprise the Project 25 suite of standards.

PCI Standard Widened for Better Security
InternetNews.com reports on the PCI Security Standards Council latest version 1.2 of PCI Data Security Standards, or PCI-DSS available for merchant use beginning Oct. 1. The Council says version 1.2 will "not introduce any major new ...

QuuxPlayer Standard Edition 2.0
A Windows audio player that delivers outstanding sound quality and performance.

Search Marketing Standard Magazine Acquired by iNET Interactive
Congratulations to Search Marketing Standard Magazine for their recent acquisition by iNET Interactive. We first reported about the print publication in January 2006 and now it has gotten bigger as Andrey Milyan reports on Crea8site ...

The Average Campaign Standard Reader
Apparently the average Campaign Standard reader is only the middle quartiles at law school, but also does not know what the phrase “magna cum laude” means. Where’s Goldfarb when you need him? Oh, that’s right. Playing D&D. ...

DITA to XLIFF and back -- we all need to learn what it means
On September 18 and 23, 2008, the OASIS DITA Adoption Technical Committee will hold its first webinars to present the benefits of using DITA in a translation environments. To learn more and register for these events, see the Events page ...

 


 

© 2007 articlesreader.com - All Rights Reserved