Shalom Existence

Lately it has come to my attention how important this characteristic is for people in leadership to have. It is often so easy to tell people what they want to hear, avoid the issue altogether, or speak to inappropriate people, leading to rumors and negativity. There is nothing I respect more than a person who can be truthful, respectful, and chooses to not talk about others behind their backs, but rather confront them in a calm and loving way. Granted, that can be very difficult, because of the nature of simply being human and the heightened states we may find ourselves in when we find out what someone has said about us or some flaw that we may find in others. I think the Bible hits it perfectly when it asks why we seek to point out the speck in someone else’s eyes before we inspect the plank in our own. How true.

Fortunately I am coming to see that those with integrity sit and wait, not jumping, not overreacting, not running off and screaming at every person they come in contact with. People with integrity realize that people are imperfect and they think of others before they think of themselves. Okay, so I realize that no one is perfect, but I am coming to see that if we follow Christ, truly loving Him and developing a relationship (i.e. talking to him), we can ourselves become people of integrity. A person that does not jump to conclusions, that has empathy and compassion for everyone, thinking of the well being of others before themselves, and being honest without being brutal, that is the kind of person I want to be.

Growing up in church helps you to see the dark side of Christianity everywhere. I am and have been a Pastor’s kid for 95% of my life, so it is like having the backstage pass to the problems with the “Body of Christ.” By 12 you start to see church more as the social circle or goossip circle, and really forget that Christ has anything to do with it. Then when you remember you learn to keep talking about others just so people won’t know how screwed up you are. Point: it is really easy to keep hate in your heart about people like this and keep blame for teaching you those lessons. But everyone learned it from someone, and while we have the power to change and grow, we do take lessons from our lives that can be difficult to overcome. So, while I pray to contunue to grow into a person of integrity, I’ll try to keep my whiney little over-offended butt in check. Sometimes it’s difficult, but it makes all the difference in how you show Christ, and not that dark side, to the world around you.

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