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Practical Christian Living
The nuts and bolts of everyday Christian life
Living with Honesty, Wisdom, and Integrity
March 28, 2002
by Kelly Smith

         Picture a car, maybe a four-wheel drive or a sleek sports car.  When you see it, you see the shell, the outside.  As it drives along, it is handling fairly well, especially on those smooth roads.  But all of the sudden, there is a bump in the road.  When you hit the bump, the car goes over it without to many problems the first time.  But then the road gets worse, and you start to hear some rattling in the engine.  Now we have come upon a dirt road and the car is starting to fall to pieces as it is driving along.  All the nuts and bolts that have held the car together thus far are now falling out.

          This is what happens to the Christian who has not put the nuts and bolts in place properly.  We see the sleek outside and when things are going well, it is easy to keep up appearances.  But when we start to hit those bumps in the road, the true test of character, we can easily fall apart and lose our testimony.  What are these nuts and bolts that will get stronger if they are properly in place; they are Honesty, Wisdom and Integrity.  These will see us through all the good times and the bad with our Christian Character remaining in place.

Honesty~ 1. The quality or condition of being honest; integrity. 2. Truthfulness; sincerity: in all honesty.

Integrity~ 1. Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code. See Synonyms at honesty. 2. The state of being unimpaired; soundness. 3. The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness.

Wisdom~  n. 1. Understanding of what is true, right, or lasting; insight: "One cannot have wisdom without living life" (Dorothy McCall). 2. Common sense; good judgment: "It is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things" (Henry David Thoreau). 3. a. The sum of scholarly learning through the ages; knowledge: "In those homely sayings was couched the collective wisdom of generations" (Maya Angelou). b. Wise teachings of the ancient sages. 4. A wise outlook, plan, or course of action. 5. Wisdom. Bible. Wisdom of Solomon.

Q~ What do you think of when someone says Practical Christian Living?  What is your first thought?

Practical Christian living uses Honesty, Wisdom and Integrity together.  These three are the nuts and bolts of living the Christian life.  They are just like a nut and bolt.  Alone they are not very useful, but when you put the them together along with a handle or a drawer, you get a VERY useful item.  Let's look at how we can put them together in the Christian walk and what happens when they are combined for daily life...

®        Honestyè Nut ~ it is useful, but on it’s own it really doesn’t amount to much

®        Wisdom èBolt ~ you can be wise, but if you don’t use honesty in your Christian day to day living Wisdom becomes useless

®        Integrity èScrew ~ is what happens when you apply both honesty and wisdom together as a Christian

Differences between Honesty, Wisdom and Integrity~

Y       Honesty helps you to convey a truth

v      Proverbs 12:17-18è A truthful witness gives honest testimony, but a false witness tells lies. Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Y       Wisdom helps you to know what to do or say in a given situation.

ü      Proverbs 17:28 è Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.

ü      Proverbs 16:23è A wise man's heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction.

Y      Integrity is what happens when you choose to walk according to the Word both day and night, while alone or with people.  It means that you are always the same no matter what.

V        1 Chronicles 29:17è I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.

V        Psalm 41:11-12è I know that you are pleased with me, for my enemy does not triumph over me. In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.

V        Proverbs 10:8-9è The wise in heart accept commands, but a chattering fool comes to ruin. The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.

V        Proverbs 11:2-3è When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

V        Titus 2:7-8è In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

When we put these three (honesty, wisdom and integrity) together, we have a useful stabilizer for our Christian walk.  Nuts and bolts are the unseen parts that keep something else together.  In our walk we have unseen truths that help us to live everyday.  That is what honesty, wisdom, and integrity are for the Christian.  

This means doing what is right, even when no one is looking.  That means that we have to remember that God is ALWAYS looking.  He will judge and show approval as we do these things even though we may never get acknowledgement from anyone else.

O  Recently, I went to our local JoAnne Fabrics to purchase some material and other items.  When I got home, I found the cutting slip still in my bag.  Sometimes this happens, they forget to put the cutting slip in their bin and you go home with it.  But upon further investigation, I found that I wasn't charged for my material that I had cut.  I happened to be on the phone with a dear friend when I found out.  I made a choice at this point to share with her what I found.  She immediately said that I needed to call the store and ask what I should do.  I didn't have time to drive another 25 minutes one way to pay the bill.  I knew that if I wanted to please God, I had to call the store.  What she said to me was already something that I was feeling inside.  When I called the store and told them what happened, they gave me the store address and I quickly put a check in the mail with the cutting slip.  No one would have known any different had I just never said anything about the discrepancy, but I knew that God would know.  I had a choice to make and by sharing with my dear friend, I was held accountable for my actions.

Proverbs 21:22 He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.

James 1:26   If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.

            Our mouth is where we lose our Christian witness the quickest.  We need to ‘think’ BEFORE we speak.  We need to weigh each word that we are about to speak to see if it builds up or tears down.

♫         Example~ My most difficult struggle is with my kids.  I try hard to encourage, but sometimes, after trying a number of times, I lose it and holler and get angry instead of using wisdom.

♫         Impatience also brings on this struggle.  When you are not willing to wait, or you are in a rush, it is easier to make a fatal mistake with your mouth.  We need to guard ourselves and our  tongues at all times.

Proverbs 20:13 Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare.

Y        Too often we need to focus in on doing what we need to do rather than on what the other person is or is not doing.

o        This often means doing the work while others do nothing.  Sometimes, only our Heavenly Father sees what we do. 

o        As we walk by example, people watch and then our words become effective.

Y  If you are too busy telling others how to live their lives, but your own is TOTALLY messed up, then you need to concentrate on you, not them.

o        We are sometimes so busy being focused in on what the other person is or is not doing that we forget to take care of what we should or shouldn’t be doing.

Y        Too often the world sees Christians as being hypocrites because they do not live on Monday-Saturday the way they are at church on Sunday. 

o        My husband has a unique challenge.  He is a Sgt. on a police department and it can be very tough to live a Christian life while working this job.  But John lives the same way at work as he does at church.  How do I know, because the guys on the department come to him for counsel.  Their are a few who have from time to time teased him in a malicious way about being a Christian. 

o        I have found that unless my opinion or advice is asked for, it is better to say nothing.  It is better to listen to what the other person is saying as opposed to giving advice when they really just need to vent their frustrations.

In Closing, let us look at James…

James 3:2-17
We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.

Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.

Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man,

but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.

Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?

My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.

Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

Remember that we have not failed if we forget to use wisdom, honesty or integrity, we just need to practice this all the more. 

Honesty is the first step; telling the truth…

Wisdom is the second step; knowing when to speak or not to speak a truth…

Integrity is the third step; being consistent even when no one else is around…