But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
My foot stands on level ground;
in the great assembly I will bless the LORD.
Psalms 26:11-12
Let’s get this done, I got a lot more to do.
Hey, it’s Friday. For me this is the one last day I have to make up for all the slacking that was done the past 4 days.
I mean, I’m sure I got a lot done. Without going into too much detail, I set some goals for me at the beginning of this week, and let’s just say that I have, at the very least, gotten started in all of them. I have been moving. It’s a little known fact that Julius Caesar actually met an ancestor of supermodel Tyra Banks, and they had a son who quoted: “I came and I saw, and I’m still in the running to conquer”
Read up. It’s bound to be scribbled somewhere. No, really.
On the other hand, I haven’t exactly been behaving. I mean, I’ve been slacking, that’s for sure. They say to take breaks in between tasks, and when it comes to taking breaks, I’m pretty – what, efficient? Too efficient. But it’s not like I haven’t worked on it. We agreed that if I was to be playing on the computer, I’d have one gaming session in the morning, and one in the evening – no more, and also, no less.
Here’s a note to self: I’d probably do well for my body and my time if I have my meals without watching anything. Like, get my food, and enjoy my food without needing to watch Everybody Loves Raymond. I’ll probably feel full with a lot less than I probably would without an episode playing, which means I’d be saving time as well.
You see in all this that I’m still working on time management. And with that said, my integrity still needs work. Sure, I’d talk as the Psalmist would – I shall walk in my integrity… but that doesn’t necessarily imply that the integrity I establish and uphold for myself is impeccable. Hell, I was pretty aware of that, as just some hours ago, I was verbally beating my chest as I spoke to the children, telling them that if we were rebuking them, it was all out of love… But I didn’t move on to the next point without telling them either, that we still make our mistakes, and they had every right to rebuke us as well.
We ought to default to giving our best in walking in integrity, but let’s be realistic. We’re going to mess up, and we’re going to make some major, big-time mistakes. And I think the Psalmist knew this as well, which is why he immediately follows up by calling to the walking definition of Integrity, God Himself; The Psalmist calls to Him as we should – Redeem me! Be gracious to me!
He goes on to say that his foot stands on level ground – but here’s the thing, if you’ve been catching on the unspoken themes surrounding this particular article, you’d probably come to the same realization as I’m about to point out: Our focus shouldn’t be on our foot as much as it ought to be on the secure, level ground that we’re sitting, lying, or standing on. Just as we’ve established how our integrity is nowhere near as valuable as Christ’s faithfulness, so we’re also saying that our feet are nowhere near as reliable as Christ, who is the literal Rock on whom we stand.
And isn’t that another beautiful realization – that no matter how strong and stable our feet could get, we still wouldn’t be able to stand for too long, on foundations that show even the smallest signs of failure?
I don’t think it’s an accident that I’ve been referring to Romans 11:36 for the past few days. It may be pushing it but I’m applying it here as well. The reason we stand is not because of our feet, but because of our Rock – From Him, and to Him we stand.
The reason we walk is not because of our own integrity, but because God has been gracious to us, and in His grace, He has not hesitated in redeeming us. – From Him, and to Him we walk.
In one of my favorite movies of all time, Akeem talks to Lisa McDowell; The Prince of Zamunda was mopping the floor in a New York fast food restaurant that’s a complete ripoff of McDonald’s, and he took a break with the daughter of the restaurant owner. In their conversation, Akeem quotes Nietzche:
“He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk. One cannot fly into flying.”
The seemingly godless philosopher has some wisdom for us today – we could not expect to exist one day, and then fly the next. If there is something humanity shares in common with each other, it’s that no matter where we start off, or no matter how opulent or pathetic our condition when we are born, all of us need to learn to stand, and then to walk, before we ever come near to rising.
Our own walking reveals the flaws in our integrity. Our own standing reveals the weakness in what we call our foundations. But behold, we have Christ, who has redeemed us, and who served as our Rock.
For this, indeed, in the great assemblies, we shall testify, and we shall bless the Lord.
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My comforter, my all in all
Here in the love of Christ I stand
There’s so much more to write about, but for the sake of this article I’ll stop here for now.
Until the next post, God bless you.
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
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