A Lesson in Honesty and Integrity

Luke 16:10 - 12
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?"

I am in a good place. I am positive that the Holy Spirit has me by the scruff of the neck. How do I know this? My conscience will not let me get away with A THING! Frustrating, but I know it’s for the best.

As well as being a teacher, during the week I also deliver a couple of newspapers in my local area. Not sure why. It’s certainly not “all about the Benjamins”. It does get me some exercise and keeps me humble I guess.

Right from the start I was being overpaid. They were sending more papers than I had to deliver, so I always ended up with a bunch of leftover papers and a few extra bucks in the pocket. It was only single digits, so for the first couple of months I didn’t worry about it. Their mistake, their loss.

However, last week as I was doing the deliveries, I was convicted. I am a committed Christian, and I know my Bible well enough, so the above verses popped into my head. When I stand before God, nothing will be hidden, and I won’t be able to justify myself. There are no such things as “little sins” and “big sins.” I was doing the wrong thing, even if it was a total of less than $100.

One thing that I thought about was next year. I have lined up a significant job that gives me a level of even greater responsibility and trust than my current teaching job. How could I expect God (or anyone else) to trust me with that when I was dishonest over a few dollars? How could I expect to enter and have any responsibility in Heaven when I acted like this over a few dollars?

I went through every possible justification of my actions in my head. It just seemed so petty and insignificant, but I knew what I had to do, and I wouldn’t feel right until I had done it. Today I wrote a money order for an amount less than $100 and sent it to the company.

So thanks Holy Spirit. My lesson is learned, and I can only hope God still wants to trust me with more. Looking forward to what’s ahead.