Tag integrity

4 things we’ll never Regret doing

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In a world where choices often weigh heavy with consequence, there are actions so pure, so aligned with the human spirit, that they stand beyond regret or the need for repentance. These are the timeless acts that enrich lives, and those around us, and echo with eternal resonance.

These 4 principles are easy with people we like, it’s much more challenging to hold these qualities with folks who don’t like you.

Speaking EDIFYING Words
Words have power to build or break. Choosing to speak words that uplift, encourage, and inspire is a gift that lingers in hearts. Imagine a weary soul, burdened by doubt, lifted by your gentle affirmation. We’ll never regret offering hope through our speech. When we choose words that breathe life, we reflect divine creativity. Ephesians 4:29 urges, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up.” Our words can be a beacon, guiding others through darkness, and we’ll never wish we’d held them back.

Showing KINDNESS and Forgiveness
Kindness is a currency of the soul, and forgiveness its greatest transaction. Extending a hand to someone in need or releasing a grudge can transform lives. Picture the moment you forgave someone who hurt you; their eyes softening, your heart lightening. We’ll never regret choosing compassion over bitterness. Colossians 3:12-13 reminds us to “put on compassionate hearts, kindness, humility… forgiving one another.” These acts free us from resentment’s chains, leaving peace in their wake.

Acting with INTEGRITY
Integrity is the compass of a life well-lived. Standing firm in truth, even when it’s costly, brings a quiet confidence that never fades. Consider the employee who refuses to cut corners, earning trust that outlasts fleeting gain. We’ll never regret honoring what’s right. Proverbs 11:3 declares, “The integrity of the upright guides them.” Living with integrity aligns us with our deepest values, ensuring we rest easy, untroubled by guilt. (See 2Peter 1:5-10)

LOVING Others as Yourself
To love others as we love ourselves is to mirror the divine (Matt 22:37-39). Loving those who don’t love you is the real challenge. There’s no credit in Loving only those who love you (Luke 6:32). This love, selfless and bold, leaves no room for regret. Imagine the joy of seeing someone flourish because you chose to care. Mark 12:31 commands, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This love weaves a legacy that endures.

These choices carry no shadow of regret. They are the qualities of living with purpose and peace.

agape

How to have Biblical UNITY

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“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” [Eph 4:13]

Every few years there is a call for UNITY. Nobody likes arguing nor complaining. We all seek for UNITY to avoid such fighting.

It would seem that many think, as long as there’s no arguing, then UNITY must therefore exist. While this may give the appearance of UNITY, it is not biblical UNITY.

What we have is peace, but not UNITY. “If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men.” [Rom 12:18]

What must exist for us to have biblical UNITY?

Fraternity or Fellowship? Living at peace with others is key to developing UNITY, but there’s much more involved in developing Biblical UNITY.

To illustrate the problem, answer this question; If two math professors are kind to one another, yet one teaches 2+2=8,346, do they have Mathematical Unity? Certainly not. While they may be agreeable, they do not agree on the facts, therefore they are not in UNITY. They have Fraternity, but not UNITY.

This illustration brings us to the very FIRST condition needed in developing Biblical Unity. An UNDERSTANDING of the Will of the Lord is essential to establishing Biblical Unity.

“whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; [Eph 3:4]

“For this people’s heart is waxed gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest, haply they should perceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And should turn again, And I should heal them.” [Acts 28:27]

“Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.” [1Tim 1:7]

“Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” [Eph 5:17]

Without agreement on the doctrine of Christ, how can two walk together? [Amos 3:3]

Next, we can never achieve UNITY if we fail to be NICE in our words & deeds. “Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,” [1Cor 13:4]

Next, without personal INTEGRITY there can be no UNITY. Integrity is defined as; adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. We may speak about UNITY all we want, but without INTEGRITY no one will believe us. That’s hypocrisy. “If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:” [1John 1:6]

Biblical Unity must also include TENACITY for the Truth without wavering. It should go without saying that UNITY is based on the TRUTH of God’s word. [John 17:17] “that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;” [Eph 4:14]

Lastly, since we’re not perfect and we’re all in a state of growing and maturing, we may not yet know what we ought to know. People coming together with varying levels of maturity can achieve UNITY if we all have a YEARNING to do the Will of the Lord. With this Yearning, we can still have UNITY because we all want to learn and do the will of the Lord. This is the best understanding of “Unity of the Faith” in Eph 4:13. It doesn’t mean that we all have the exact same understanding. What it means is that we all have access to the same information, God’s word and our desire, YEARNING, to know the Word.

“Putting away therefore all wickedness, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, long for the spiritual milk which is without guile, that ye may grow thereby unto salvation;” [1Peter 2:1-2]

With these 5 elements we can develop Biblical Unity.

U- Understanding the will of the Lord.

N- Nice words & Deeds

I- Integrity

T- Tenacity, consistency

Y- Yearning to know the will of the Lord

–Spencer