Sand Mountain Sermonette 63
Proverbs 11:3; Proverbs 10:9
Papaw’s Most Lasting Gift
“The integrity of the upright will guide them” Proverbs 11:3
As I have mentioned before, my Papaw Mabrey was a tremendous influence on my life. Papaw was a Christian who truly lived publicly and privately the Christian values he held deep within His heart. And, if I were to boil everything down, next to His being a Christian grandfather, Papaw’s integrity: his honesty, truthfulness, sincerity, trustworthiness, and his desire not to be corrupted by his culture, was his most influential and lasting gift he left behind for me to capture and to cultivate with the Lord’s help.
I agree with the singer of many years ago who sang, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love…” adding, that Christ’s love and transformation of the soul is what our world truly needs. But, as a reflection of Christ’s love and light in our world, what the world needs now, is for we Christians to be people of integrity!
My grandfather never told dirty jokes. He would accept the wrong order at a restaurant and not make a scene by saying to those around him at the table, “That’s alright, I can learn to like this just fine.” He was always a man of his word, told the truth, and he always put others before himself. When he retired as a U.S. rural mail carrier in Boaz, Alabama, all his co-workers would attest to his being a worker and a friend characterized by integrity. But here’s where the rubber meets the road; if you were to have asked my Mamaw Mabrey about my Papaw’s private life, she would have verified him to be the husband, son, and grandfather everyone thought him to be publicly.
Christian, it is in the private recesses of the heart and in our time alone with God that our integrity is nurtured for the public marketplace where people are watching us. And that’s okay because that’s where authentic authenticity for the Lord speaks volumes! Solomon writes, “He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out” Proverbs 10:9. How true this is.
Was my grandfather, are we, perfect? Of course not! But God has called His children to be conformed daily to the image of His Son who, in turn, reflects His Father’s character. In all the different worlds of your life, are you exhibiting the character of Christ or self? Is there any area where you have laxed on your integrity? God to God and confess this to Him and then, move forward cleansed and empowered as a man or woman of renewed integrity!
Let us be men and women of integrity and let us pass this legacy on to others!
Pastor Louie