Spiritual Credibility

Day two hundred thirty-six

As I woke this morning at 5 am to get ready for another early morning meeting for work, I realized how lucky I am to have my job.  I work in a great environment, with great people, helping others, and being myself.  I am so grateful to have this opportunity in my life.  So my prayer was filled with a great big THANK YOU to the Lord this morning.

1 Samuel 12
Chapter 12 focuses some attention on Samuel.  I read this chapter a couple of times because I was so impressed with what Samuel does and I was sure that there was a lesson in there for me!

First, I would like to ask a question:

Would you feel comfortable standing in front of all the people in your city and asking them to share if you have ever wronged them?

That's exactly was Samuel does.  The guy has got guts and apparently a clean conscience.  And to top it off, he states that if he has wronged anyone, he would happy to make things right, right then and there!

Honestly, I can say that the thought of doing this would put me into a panic attack.  What would people say about me? This could be an awkward and very uncomfortable situation.  I don't think that I could guarantee that no one would speak up!

How would it feel to be able to stand with confidence and ask this question?  There have been times in my life when I've had to come clean and put myself out there and get issues dealt with, but not in front of that many people.  It is hard enough to try to make things right with one person, let alone thousands!

I wanted to know how Samuel was able to do this with such confidence.  How do I get people to respond to the question with "Thou has not defrauded us, or oppressed us, nor taken anything that wasn't yours (v 4)?"

How do we live a life that makes this possible?  I found the answers in the same chapter.
Fear (revere) the Lord (vv 14, 24)
Serve Him with all your heart (vv 14, 20, 24)
Obey Him (v 14)
Keep His commandments (v 14)
Follow the Lord your God (v 14)
Forsake vain things (v 21)
Remember you are the Lord's people (22)
Do not cease to pray (especially for others) (v 23)
Think about the things the Lord has done for you (24)

I think as a Christian we are supposed to live our lives in such a way that we would receive the same response that Samuel did.  It is important that we try our best to do so, because like Samuel, we need to have credibility.  We can't be very good agents unto the Lord if we aren't living what we teach.  I don't think the people would have listened to Samuel had someone stood up and said that Samuel had in some way defrauded, oppressed, or took anything that wasn't his.  Why would anyone listen to us share the message of the gospel if we weren't living up to it's standards?

This chapter resonates with me.  I am a big believer in leading by example, even if I am not perfect myself.  There is something powerful in knowing that what someone is telling you is true, because you know they have credibility.  I think I would be a much more effective parent, teacher, and Christian if I had strong credibility.

That is my goal today, I am going to work on living my life in such a way that I would receive the same response as Samuel if the question was asked about me.  This will not be easy, but I love the fact that the Lord included this story in the scriptures so that we know that it is attainable.  Instead of Street Credibility, I'm going to work on my Spiritual Credibility!