DAILY HOPE DEVOTIONAL: NOVEMBER 4 ENEMY OF INTEGRITY IS ME FIRST SCRIPTURE: GENESIS 14: 21 – 24
SPECIAL NOTE: Today’s devotional was for November 3 but wrongly posted as November 4. We are sorry for the inconveniences this caused our readers.
The text passage in today’s devotional captured the last event of what happened after Abram (Abraham) went to rescue his nephew, Lot after the allies of King Kedorlaomer attacked Sodom and Gomorrah and went away with everyone there and their properties. On hearing the news, Abraham mobilized his servants, attacked the allies, and rescued the people captured alongside their properties. On returning, the King of Sodom met Abraham, told him to take everything he recovered from the enemies except the people rescued (Gen. 14: 21). But Abraham refused the offer. To an ordinary person, nothing is wrong to take all that you recovered from risking your life to save other people.
We can see element of integrity in the life of Abraham here. Is like after he won victory over the enemies, he took an oath not to touch anything he recovered from the enemies. Taking all that he had recovered would amount to selfishness. Abraham did not want to be caught in the web of “Me First.” One major reflections of integrity include acting what one says. Abraham told the King of Sodom: “I have raised my hand in an oath to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or sandal strap or anything that belongs to you…” (Gen. 14: 22 – 23 Apologetic Study Bible). It takes integrity to stick to an oath. These days, people take oath publicly but deceitfully. What is being spoken is different from the contents of the mind.
We see the integrity of Abraham further when he considered those who followed him to the battle above his personal interests. He told King of Sodom to give a fair share of the recovered properties to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre, the young warriors who fought the battle with him (Gen. 14: 24). Many leaders of our days will not do this. They would rather use an African adage saying that “He who taps the wine is the first to taste it”; meaning one who labors should be the first to benefits from his labors. The adage promotes selfishness. Pursuing selfish gain at the cost of integrity has been the downfall of many leaders today. It is seen in everything in our societies today.
Today’s devotional is simply telling readers to embrace integrity against selfish gains. The proceeds of our labors are not earned by us alone. Those who labor with us to earn successes must be remembered when things begin to work wonderfully well with us. This is what the action of Abraham demonstrated to people here. The beloved, no matter what we think about life, integrity is one of the major pillars that will make us to be remembered after we had passed away from this earth.
PRAYER:
BLESSED FATHER, take away from my heart and mind selfishness and plant in me Spirit of integrity in Jesus name. Father, let your Holy Spirit teach all our leaders how to embrace integrity in the name of Jesus Christ.
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