What’s Inside?

I heard the story of a pastor who boarded a bus one Monday morning, paid his fare, and took his seat. A few minutes later, he realized that the driver had given him too much change. Some people might have put it in their pocket and said, “Lord, thank you for your provision.” But this pastor knew that would be wrong. At the next stop, he walked to the front of the bus with the extra change and said to the driver, “Excuse me, sir, you gave me too much change, and I wanted to return it to you, because obviously you made a mistake.”

The driver said, “Pastor, I didn’t make a mistake. I was at your church last night and heard you preach on honesty. I wanted to see if you practiced what you preached.” Fortunately, he did.

People are watching you as a Christian. They are scrutinizing your every move. You should know they are not hoping you will be a godly witness. They are hoping you will slip up so they will have something on which to conveniently hang their doubts and unbelief.

Humorist Will Rogers said, “So live that you would not mind selling your pet parrot to the town gossip.” That is the idea of integrity: having nothing in our lives to be ashamed of. This personal integrity is something we are developing on a daily basis with every thought we think and every action we take. We are either building up character or tearing it down.

What kind of character do you have? Who are you in private? For all practical purposes, that is the real you.