“The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.” 1 Timothy 5:24-25 ESV
“The sins of some people are blatant and march them right into court. The sins of others don’t show up until much later. The same with good deeds. Some you see right off, but none are hidden forever. The sins of some people are blatant and march them right into court. The sins of others don’t show up until much later. The same with good deeds. Some you see right off, but none are hidden forever.
1 Timothy 5:24-25 MSG
I used to work in a pretty fast-paced environment at a detail shop at a used car dealership. My department inspected cars and corrected cosmetic defects in the body and paint. Individuals were required to work on one car at a time, and we had a daily quota for the whole team. You could often cut corners to get more cars inspected, but that was often at the expense of the quality of the car. We had a guy on the team– let’s call him John– who would get a lot of cars inspected but would have to rework many of those cars. I would often say, “Hey, John, you missed something.” To this, he would reply, “That’s future John’s problem.” We always got a little laugh out of it.
How many of us are guilty of this in our lives, relationships with others, or our relationship with God? We should be people of integrity, even when we don’t feel like it’s worth the effort or don’t get recognized for our effort.
Have you cut corners somewhere in your life, job, or relationships? Don’t let that be your future self’s problem.
Jesus is really good at reminding us of our mission and checking our attitudes. It’s super easy to let things go when no one will see or we don’t get recognized. When we arrive in the future, sometimes those things from the past have a way of surfacing, and we get to deal with our less-caring self’s faults all over again.
When it comes to our riding, we can talk a big game. When it comes to delivery, we need to be able to back it up. Our faith is the same. We need to be people of integrity. Don’t what needs to be dealt with now become your future self’s issues. Ask Jesus to expose those and deal with them.
Challenge
• Where are some areas of your life you realize you’re cutting corners?
• Have you asked Jesus for wisdom on how to resolve those issues?
• Do you have a mentor (or someone similar) that you’ve shared these and discussed them?
• If not, who can guide you in your spiritual walk and confront where you’re not living with complete integrity?
By Sam Torres | Edmonton, Alberta (Canada)