Happy Friday Friends!
I hope & trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! :)
Earlier this week I saw an illustration of a man speaking with Jesus. The man is going to start a business and he asks Jesus if he should include the Christian fish or cross in his company logo. Jesus asks him why he is thinking about including them in his logo. The man replies, "So people will know that I am a Christian." Jesus replies that he should not include the symbols in his logo but rather he should show people he is a Christian by his workmanship, honesty & integrity. Wow, right?!?! Oh, it's o.k. if you wanna go ahead and shift in you chair right now! :)
A rather simple, but deeply profound, illustration. I have thought about this illustration several times since I saw it. The quality of our work, the depth & breadth of our honesty & integrity says far more about who we are, whose we are and what we believe than the symbols we wear or surround ourselves with and yet, we spend so much time worrying about and focusing on these things! O.K., at least I do! :)
I am reminded of the quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that say, "What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say." What do the things you & I do say? Are my actions speaking life? Lifting others up? Encouraging others? Is it done with excellence? If our work reflects the boss we serve, who would others say is my boss? Can they see my Boss through my work? Deep, right?! I would even take it a step further and remind myself that my work is reflecting something...what is it? And right now my Spirit reminds me of Colossians 3:23: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters."
And how about the depth & breadth of my honesty & integrity? When I read my Bible I read about a Godly man, the most Godly of any man to ever live, who always (that is measurable!) spoke with complete honesty and lived with full integrity. Does my life reflect my conviction & devotion to pursuing Him? Let's be brutally honest and perfectly clear here; you & I are flawed people living in a broken world. We will never achieve the level of absolute perfection that Jesus modeled for us every day - that is not a bad thing by the way...if we could, we would not need Him! The question however is, how small are those gaps? If there were a line to measure our honesty and integrity with complete honesty & integrity being on one end, representing the life Jesus modeled, and complete dishonesty & lack of integrity being on the other end, representing evil, where do you & I fall? Let's not judge each other on this point, let's let our Spirits convict us on that point. And I pray passionately that you and I will have the strength & courage to act, with God's help, on the convictions of our Spirits!
As a little sidebar, chasing a squirrel as some of my most beloved former colleagues would say, I have to quickly share a quote with you that I found this week that is so powerful!
"Even God doesn't propose to judge a man till his last days, why should you and I?" - Dale Carnegie
O.K., back on point! :) The challenge/thought I would like to offer to you & I this week; Who do people know you & I are by our workmanship, honesty & integrity? Each one of us will choose...I pray we choose very intentionally for our influence will impact eternity!
Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families!
Kev
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