“If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant.”Luke 11:36 (NLT)
If you’re going to live like Jesus, you’ve got to adopt the values he had—values like integrity and humility.
What is integrity? Most people think integrity means being honest. And telling the truth is part of integrity, but integrity means a whole lot more than that. Integrity comes from the word integral, meaning “wholeness” or “all together.”
In mathematics, an integer is a whole number—one complete unit. In the same way, an integrated life represents wholeness; it’s the opposite of a compartmentalized life.
Having integrity means you don’t act differently whether you’re at church, work, home, or the golf course. It means you don’t segment your life. It means this is true of you: What you see is what you get!
Luke 11:36 says, “If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant” (NLT). In other words, when you have integrity, you shine like a star in a dark world.
But Christians are called to be more than just light—we're also meant to be salt. Salt seasons and preserves things, keeping them from rotting. The Living Bible paraphrase says this: “You are the world’s seasoning, to make it tolerable. If you lose your flavor, what will happen to the world?” (Matthew 5:13).
Some people ask, “Why doesn’t God just take all Christians to heaven once they become saved?” I’ll tell you. One reason he leaves them here is to be preservatives, so the world doesn’t rot away, and for seasoning, to make the world a more pleasant, satisfying place to be.
Jesus lived with integrity—consistently bringing salt and light into the world. He also lived with humility.
Humility is not false modesty. Humility is not about being quiet and reserved or denying your strengths. Humility is dependence—dependence on God.
Jesus says in Matthew 5:3, “God blesses those who . . . realize their need for him” (NLT).That’s humility.
When you don’t depend on God, you try to control the uncontrollable. But when you depend on God, you hold things with an open hand. And you have peace of mind because you’re relying on God, not on yourself.
When you live with integrity and depend on God in humility, you’ll get people’s attention, because that’s not the way most people live. And once you have the world’s attention, point them to Jesus!
Rick Warren is an innovative pastor, renowned author, and global influencer known for founding Saddleback Church, the Purpose Driven Network, the PEACE Plan, and Hope for Mental Health. He has written several best-selling books, including The Purpose Driven Life, which has sold over 35 million copies in 200 languages. Time magazine named Warren the most influential spiritual leader in America and one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Since stepping down from the lead pastor role at Saddleback in 2022, Warren has continued to inspire people through his Daily Hope Devotional and podcast Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope. His first book in a decade, Created to Dream, was released in April 2023.
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
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