What You Truly Stand For

'Above all else, guard your heart...' Proverbs 4:23 NIV

Amy and I hope you've had a wonderful week and we our looking forward to seeing you @this weekends service. (Young Adults remember there is Fuel Group tonight @the Berryhills.) The question today is what do you really stand for? Is your life one of integrity and influence? Or is it a work in progress? In my journey of faith I've had to make some changes in my life to become a man of integrity and influence. It takes work...The Bible says: 'Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.' The position you hold in life may cause people to take notice of you, but only your integrity will cause them to respect you and be willing to follow you. And integrity is only established when it becomes clear to everyone that progress, financial reward and recognition are not your gods; that you value something more, something you refuse to give up for profit or popularity. With integrity comes influence. You can manage people without integrity but you can't influence them without it. Talking one way and living another will wound you. And depending on time and circumstance, you may not be able to recover from it. You say, 'How I conduct my private life is nobody else's business.' Wrong! When people see a difference between what you demand of others and what you demand of yourself, it'll erode their respect for you every time. Your position may make you secure, but your influence with others will always remain fragile. At any given time you are only one decision, one word or one action away from destroying what it took years to build. Why is it important to keep this in mind? Because the fastest route from where you are today to where you will be tomorrow is not always the most honorable one. Being the person you want to be doesn't come easy and doesn't always line up. It's in those moments, however, that you discover a great deal about yourself; you find out what you truly stand for! You are loved...