EARNING IT

1 Chronicles 29:13-1713 Now, our God, we give You thanks, and praise Your glorious name.14 "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from You, and we havegiven You only what comes from Your hand. 15 We are aliens andstrangers in Your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days onearth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 O Lord our God, as for allthis abundance that we have provided for building You a temple forYour Holy Name, it comes from Your hand, and all of it belongs to You. 17 I know, my God, that You test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly Your people who are here have given to You.

Nate Haasis threw the football, something he had done hundreds of times as a quarterback for Springfield Southeast High School. Butduring this last play of his senior year, something strange happened.

Where was the defense?

Hassis found one of his receivers wide open--not a defender insight--and tossed a perfect spiral for a 37-yard completion. Theyardage gave him 5,006 career passing yards, surpassing the all-timemark for the Central State Eight Conference of 4,998 yards.

Then the truth came out. Nate's receiver had been wide open because his coach had made a deal with the opposing coach toward the end of the game. The football coaches conspired to let Haasis get theyardage he needed to set the record by having the defense slack off.

Later, in a letter to the Central State Eight Conference, Haasis asked that his final pass not be counted and that his record be changed to second place. His request was accepted.

Stories like Nate's can encourage us in what may seem like an uphillbattle in maintaining our integrity. Voices call to us: Go ahead anddo it, no one will know! Or, You deserve this pleasure . . . it's not like anyone will get hurt or anything!

To be honest and godly in our thoughts and actions is challenging.But when we live a life of integrity two things happen. We keep ourself-respect intact--there's no splintering of our character or ourvalues. And most important, we please God.

David said, "I know, my God, that You test the heart and are pleasedwith integrity" (1 Chronicles 29:17). He declared these words rightafter he and the Israelites had just given generously to help buildthe temple God desired. There was nothing to hide. Nothing to slink away from. They had done the right thing. Just like Nate Haasis.

Are you passing the integrity test today?  --Tom Felten

DESTINATION POINTS

* How do I live differently in secret than I do in public?
* Why does integrity matter so much to God?

LINKS
Winning Values ABCNews.com Person of the Week: Nate Haasis http://abcnews.go.com/sections/WNT/PersonofWeek/pow031107_haasis-1.html

bottom line: Doing the right thing often results in sacrifice
 
soul journey