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WISDOM AS INTEGRITY - PROVERBS 11:1-15

Today I want to talk to you about the blessings of the upright. You know, God has specific blessings. Part in our motive and our intention is to honor him and to give him a few of those today. So, Proverbs 11:1 says that a just way is delight. And so, God takes great pleasure when we measure things correctly, when we're accurate, when we operate from a presupposition of radical honesty.

This is one of the fundamental buildIng blocks of our character and one of the fundamental building blocks of how God blesses us in our life. So, we want to make sure that we are measuring things accurately, giving accurate statistics and operating out of the character of integrity in our life. 11.3 says that the integrity of the upright will guide them. And so, when your heart is to do the right thing and when it's to have integrity and when it's to operate in righteousness, this actually acts as like a compass for decision making. Whenever you're faced with the decision, am I going to do the right thing? Am I going to do the wrong thing?

Well, the person of integrity has a compass and we learn over time to always do the right thing regardless of the circumstances. And so, Proverbs 11.5 says that the right thing is to act like a guide. And so, not only does it act like a guide, but then the decisions that you make based off of your integrity, based off of your righteousness with God, then it actually helps direct the path that you're on in life because you then make it your goal to do the right thing instead of doing the wrong thing. So, Proverbs 11.8 says that the righteous will be delivered from trouble. Now, if you follow Jesus and you follow his will and his plan for your life, then it's important to remember that all of our trouble is temporary. It's not permanent.

And so, as you do the right thing, you are free from integrity, self-doubt, decisions, then this actually lessens the problems that you have, lessens the trouble that you face. Maybe not circumstantial trouble, but certainly the trouble of conscience, which is the most troublesome problem to have. Having a clear conscience, operating in integrity, keeping God first in your life, putting people before things. All of these things allow you to sleep better, have a clear conscience, and operate in a peaceful manner as you serve the Lord.

And Proverbs 11.14 says, but in the multitude of counselors, there is safety. A little rule that I live by, the more, the bigger the decision, the more wise input you're going to want to have into the decision. So, things like your spouse, where you're going to live, what you're going to do with your life, how you're going to invest your money, the friendships that you have. All of these things are really big decisions, so you're going to want to make sure and get wise input. Now, you also want to be very selective about who you listen to. Everybody has a voice, not everyone deserves to be heard and have their input factor into your decision making. You're going to want to make sure that the tribe of people that help you make decisions are full of wisdom and full of the fear of the Lord, full of godliness, full of integrity. Then, how to make decisions over time. There's so many gems in God's Word, and I'm so glad that you can be with me today. Until next time, I hope that you have a beautiful day.