For the last twenty years, Dick Knoebel has been the Chief of Police in the small town of Kewaskum, Wisconsin. Last September Chief Knoebel made the national news for writing a ticket to a motorist who drove past a stopped school bus. The ticket resulted in a fine of $235 and an increased insurance premium.
Why did an every day traffic violation make the news? Because the Chief wrote the ticket to himself. He drove past the school bus in his police cruiser with his lights flashing and suddenly realized what he had done. He wrote the ticket to himself and paid the fine. The story surfaced after it showed up in court records and local media reports. Knoebel says he has received 150 congratulatory e-mails from places like Thailand, Russia and New Zealand. Two people offered to send him money to help with the fine, but he turned down the offers.
Dick Knoebel’s actions are a great example of integrity. Someone has defined integrity as what you do when no one else is watching. Integrity implies a consistency with your words and deeds, regardless of the circumstances. Ultimately, integrity goes deeper than your words and deeds, to the core of your being. It is more a matter of who you are, than what you say or do.
Integrity is critical if you are going to honor God in this life. It becomes an internal GPS, sort of a moral compass that guides you through the many temptations which the world throws your way. Without integrity, a man will be loss in the moral relativity that permeates our culture. He will make his choices based on intimidation, greed or blind ambition, rather than the eternal principles of God’s Word.
Proverbs 11:3 reminds us, “The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.” My brother, I challenge you to be a man of integrity today. Be consistent in what you do and say, that Christ may be honored and you may be blessed.
Shoulder to Shoulder,
Gregg
Showing posts with label compromise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label compromise. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
It's Never Too Late!
Recently Robert Nuranen returned a library book to his local library in Hancock, Michigan. Normally, an event like this would not draw a lot of attention. This one, however, made the national news, because along with the book Nuranen handed the librarian a check for $171.32 to cover 47 years worth of late fees.
The book Prince of Egypt, with its last due date stamped June 2, 1960, was part of the young Nuranen’s fascination with Egypt. He said his mother misplaced the book while cleaning the house. The family came across it every so often, only to set it aside again. He found it recently while looking through a box in the attic. “I figured I’d better get it in before we waited another 10 years,” he said after returning it. He added, “Fifty-seven years would be embarrassing.”
Nuranen said he went on to visit Egypt and 54 other countries, and all 50 states, but he never did finish the book. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he teaches seventh-grade social studies and language arts. Commenting on Nuranen, librarian Sue Zubiena said, “The library had long ago lost any record of the book. I’m going to use it as an example. It’s never too late to return your books.”
Men, there are some other things that it is never too late to do. It is never too late to start telling your wife that you love her or your children that you are proud of them or your parents that you appreciate them. It is never too late to ask forgiveness for wrongs committed or say you are sorry. It is never too late to start spending time with God in Bible Study and prayer or sharing the gospel with other people.
Hebrews 3:7-8 reminds us, “So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts ....” When God speaks, we become instantly accountable to what He tells us. Thankfully we do not have to live in the prison of the past. Through God’s grace and forgiveness we can start again fresh and new.
Shoulder to Shoulder,
Gregg
The book Prince of Egypt, with its last due date stamped June 2, 1960, was part of the young Nuranen’s fascination with Egypt. He said his mother misplaced the book while cleaning the house. The family came across it every so often, only to set it aside again. He found it recently while looking through a box in the attic. “I figured I’d better get it in before we waited another 10 years,” he said after returning it. He added, “Fifty-seven years would be embarrassing.”
Nuranen said he went on to visit Egypt and 54 other countries, and all 50 states, but he never did finish the book. He now lives in Los Angeles, where he teaches seventh-grade social studies and language arts. Commenting on Nuranen, librarian Sue Zubiena said, “The library had long ago lost any record of the book. I’m going to use it as an example. It’s never too late to return your books.”
Men, there are some other things that it is never too late to do. It is never too late to start telling your wife that you love her or your children that you are proud of them or your parents that you appreciate them. It is never too late to ask forgiveness for wrongs committed or say you are sorry. It is never too late to start spending time with God in Bible Study and prayer or sharing the gospel with other people.
Hebrews 3:7-8 reminds us, “So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts ....” When God speaks, we become instantly accountable to what He tells us. Thankfully we do not have to live in the prison of the past. Through God’s grace and forgiveness we can start again fresh and new.
Shoulder to Shoulder,
Gregg
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Don't Give Up!
In his book A Call to Excellence, author Gary Inrig describes the record for the shortest major league baseball career in history. Harry Hartman was pitching for the old Brooklyn Dodgers. He was a gifted young ballplayer whose day of glory arrived in 1918 when he was called up from the minors to pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
As he approached the mound, he was thinking that this was the moment he had dreamed about, the beginning of a great career. His dreams began to fade, however, when his first pitch was hit for a single. The next batter tripled. Rattled, Hartman walked the next batter and the next hit for a single. The next batter tripled. Rattled more, he walked the next batter on four straight pitches, and when he did throw a strike to the next hitter, it went for a single.
Frustrated and dejected, Hartman had had enough. He headed for the showers, dressed, and walked out of the stadium to a naval recruiting office, where he enlisted. The next day, he was in a military uniform, never to be heard from in professional baseball again.
When I read that story, I wondered if Hartman ever had regrets about giving up too quick on professional baseball. Think of all the time and energy he expended to get to the place of being a major league ball player. What if he had stayed in baseball, practicing more and working harder to be a better pitcher? Could he have had a long, successful career in baseball? Could he have made the All-Star team or even been a Hall of Famer? You and I will never know the answer to those questions because Harry Hartman quit.
Are you considering quitting something because it is hard? Let’s face it, sometimes it is hard to be married, to be a father, to stay with a challenging career or to build a ministry. At times quitting looks very attractive as a quick way to escape the pressure, discouragement or boredom of hard things. God has a strong word for those who look at quitting as an easy way out, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up"(Galatians 6:9).
God promises to honor our efforts if our desire is to please Him and grow His Kingdom. Perhaps we will not see the full results of our perseverance in this life, but there is a payday someday, when God will reward your work.
Shoulder to Shoulder,
Gregg
As he approached the mound, he was thinking that this was the moment he had dreamed about, the beginning of a great career. His dreams began to fade, however, when his first pitch was hit for a single. The next batter tripled. Rattled, Hartman walked the next batter and the next hit for a single. The next batter tripled. Rattled more, he walked the next batter on four straight pitches, and when he did throw a strike to the next hitter, it went for a single.
Frustrated and dejected, Hartman had had enough. He headed for the showers, dressed, and walked out of the stadium to a naval recruiting office, where he enlisted. The next day, he was in a military uniform, never to be heard from in professional baseball again.
When I read that story, I wondered if Hartman ever had regrets about giving up too quick on professional baseball. Think of all the time and energy he expended to get to the place of being a major league ball player. What if he had stayed in baseball, practicing more and working harder to be a better pitcher? Could he have had a long, successful career in baseball? Could he have made the All-Star team or even been a Hall of Famer? You and I will never know the answer to those questions because Harry Hartman quit.
Are you considering quitting something because it is hard? Let’s face it, sometimes it is hard to be married, to be a father, to stay with a challenging career or to build a ministry. At times quitting looks very attractive as a quick way to escape the pressure, discouragement or boredom of hard things. God has a strong word for those who look at quitting as an easy way out, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up"(Galatians 6:9).
God promises to honor our efforts if our desire is to please Him and grow His Kingdom. Perhaps we will not see the full results of our perseverance in this life, but there is a payday someday, when God will reward your work.
Shoulder to Shoulder,
Gregg
Thursday, April 19, 2007
In Whose Name?
Like you, I was shocked to hear the news and see the graphic images of the mass murder at Virginia Tech. Cho Seung-Hui, 23, a senior English major, went on a shooting spree that left more than thirty dead and dozens more wounded. His violent essays, menacing photos and incoherent video messages provided few answers to what motivated him to hurt so many people.
On Tuesday, university leaders organized a public convocation on the campus of Virginia Tech to mourn the dead, pray for the wounded and begin the healing process. Almost 10,000 people filled Cassell Coliseum while another 20,000 sat next door in Lane Stadium to watch the service on a jumbo screen.
University officials, faculty, several local clergy, and President Bush, spoke to the crowd of tens of thousands. The first speaker, a Muslim cleric, spoke in the name of Allah and quoted the Quran. The second speaker, a Buddhist community leader, reminded the crowd that people are basically good. The third speaker, a female representative from the Jewish community, quoted from Ecclesiastes, “There is a time and a place for everything.”
Interestingly, the fourth and final clergy speaker, representing the Christian faith, was a Lutheran minister. He spoke of the “sovereignty of life” and referred to the many “religious streams that have refreshed parched people for many generations.” President Bush also sought to comfort the mourners by reminding them that millions were praying for them and commending them to the “comfort in the grace and guidance of a loving God.”
Some final remarks were offered by a popular English professor, Nikki Giovanni, who compared the tragic shooting to children in Africa dying of AIDS, Mexican children needing fresh water and elephants being killed for their ivory. When all was said and done, none of the speakers had used the name of Jesus Christ or even referred to him indirectly.
In a sense, this almost compounds the tragedy. Think about it. In America today it is all right to mention Allah and Buddha by name in public, but not Jesus Christ. I wonder if Cho, the gunman, ever had the opportunity to hear the life-transforming message of the gospel of Christ. How many of the students who were listening that day needed to hear that true healing, comfort and forgiveness comes from a personal relationship with Christ?
In Acts 4:12 Peter, a first generation follower of Christ, boldly proclaimed that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” He spoke these words in a day when it was illegal to speak in the name of Christ. He chose to act in a manner that was not only politically incorrect, but could have resulted in imprisonment or even death. May God grant us the same boldness to speak out in the only name that saves people, the name of Christ.
Shoulder to Shoulder,
Pastor Gregg
On Tuesday, university leaders organized a public convocation on the campus of Virginia Tech to mourn the dead, pray for the wounded and begin the healing process. Almost 10,000 people filled Cassell Coliseum while another 20,000 sat next door in Lane Stadium to watch the service on a jumbo screen.
University officials, faculty, several local clergy, and President Bush, spoke to the crowd of tens of thousands. The first speaker, a Muslim cleric, spoke in the name of Allah and quoted the Quran. The second speaker, a Buddhist community leader, reminded the crowd that people are basically good. The third speaker, a female representative from the Jewish community, quoted from Ecclesiastes, “There is a time and a place for everything.”
Interestingly, the fourth and final clergy speaker, representing the Christian faith, was a Lutheran minister. He spoke of the “sovereignty of life” and referred to the many “religious streams that have refreshed parched people for many generations.” President Bush also sought to comfort the mourners by reminding them that millions were praying for them and commending them to the “comfort in the grace and guidance of a loving God.”
Some final remarks were offered by a popular English professor, Nikki Giovanni, who compared the tragic shooting to children in Africa dying of AIDS, Mexican children needing fresh water and elephants being killed for their ivory. When all was said and done, none of the speakers had used the name of Jesus Christ or even referred to him indirectly.
In a sense, this almost compounds the tragedy. Think about it. In America today it is all right to mention Allah and Buddha by name in public, but not Jesus Christ. I wonder if Cho, the gunman, ever had the opportunity to hear the life-transforming message of the gospel of Christ. How many of the students who were listening that day needed to hear that true healing, comfort and forgiveness comes from a personal relationship with Christ?
In Acts 4:12 Peter, a first generation follower of Christ, boldly proclaimed that “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” He spoke these words in a day when it was illegal to speak in the name of Christ. He chose to act in a manner that was not only politically incorrect, but could have resulted in imprisonment or even death. May God grant us the same boldness to speak out in the only name that saves people, the name of Christ.
Shoulder to Shoulder,
Pastor Gregg
Friday, December 08, 2006
Dangerous Shortcuts
On November 18, 35 year old James Kim and his family left their San Francisco home for a Thanksgiving holiday trip to visit relatives in Portland, Oregon. On the trip home, they planned to take a shortcut over the little traveled Bear Camp Road through the rugged Oregon mountain wilderness near Rogue River. During the night, they began to encounter heavy snow. Soon their 2005 Saab wagon was stuck and they huddled together for warmth, thinking someone would find them in the morning, but no one came.
For three days they ran the car heater to stay warm and ate what little food they had with them. When the gas ran out they burned all the tires, even the spare, to stay warm. With no more heat and food running out, Kim decided he would leave the vehicle and look for help. He said he would return in five hours, but was gone for two days. On the second day, the vehicle was spotted by a search helicopter and Kim’s wife and his two daughters were rescued. Kim’s body was found about a mile from the vehicle. Gauging by his tracks, he had walked about ten miles in a circle before succumbing to hypothermia.
Speaking with reporters after Kim’s body was found, Terri Stone, an innkeeper at the lodge in Gold Beach, where the Kims were to have stayed the night of Nov. 25, said the Bear Camp Road is shown on some Internet road-direction sites as the best way to get to the coast from Grants Pass, but she advises against it. "It looks like the shortest distance, but it is very, very treacherous," she said.
Sometimes we are tempted to take moral shortcuts in the course of our lives. God’s word warns us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Lured by the promise of easy, painless success, men often compromise biblical standards and ignore the internal moral GPS God has given us – our conscience. Paul reminded the Corinthians, “For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.”
Sadly, we are not the only ones who suffer when we make a wrong moral choice, our families suffer as well. My brother in Christ, today you may be facing a severe temptation to compromise what you know is right, in order to get ahead. May God give you the grace and courage to do the right thing, to make the right choice, regardless of the sacrifice and inconvenience. Your family and friends are watching and counting on you to make the right decision.
Shoulder to Shoulder,
Gregg
For three days they ran the car heater to stay warm and ate what little food they had with them. When the gas ran out they burned all the tires, even the spare, to stay warm. With no more heat and food running out, Kim decided he would leave the vehicle and look for help. He said he would return in five hours, but was gone for two days. On the second day, the vehicle was spotted by a search helicopter and Kim’s wife and his two daughters were rescued. Kim’s body was found about a mile from the vehicle. Gauging by his tracks, he had walked about ten miles in a circle before succumbing to hypothermia.
Speaking with reporters after Kim’s body was found, Terri Stone, an innkeeper at the lodge in Gold Beach, where the Kims were to have stayed the night of Nov. 25, said the Bear Camp Road is shown on some Internet road-direction sites as the best way to get to the coast from Grants Pass, but she advises against it. "It looks like the shortest distance, but it is very, very treacherous," she said.
Sometimes we are tempted to take moral shortcuts in the course of our lives. God’s word warns us, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Lured by the promise of easy, painless success, men often compromise biblical standards and ignore the internal moral GPS God has given us – our conscience. Paul reminded the Corinthians, “For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.”
Sadly, we are not the only ones who suffer when we make a wrong moral choice, our families suffer as well. My brother in Christ, today you may be facing a severe temptation to compromise what you know is right, in order to get ahead. May God give you the grace and courage to do the right thing, to make the right choice, regardless of the sacrifice and inconvenience. Your family and friends are watching and counting on you to make the right decision.
Shoulder to Shoulder,
Gregg
Thursday, October 12, 2006
The shame heard round the world
When baseball fans talk about the shot heard round the world, they are not referring to the start of the American Revolution, but to the 1951 homerun that won the National League championship. The New York Giants were playing on their home field against their cross town rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers. They had split the first two games of the three game playoff. In the bottom of the ninth, Brooklyn held a demanding 4-1 lead and seemed to have clinched the pennant.
The Giants scored one run and placed two men on base while only using one out. Then, Bobby Thomson stepped to the plate against Ralph Branca, who had been brought in to replace a tiring Don Newcombe. Thomson hit the 0-1 pitch deep into the left field stands and the crowd erupted. Giants' fans swarmed the field to share in the victory and carried Thomson on their shoulders, while Branca slowly walked off the field in stunned silence.
In his new book, The Echoing Green, Joshua Prager reveals a secret that possibly gave Bobby Thompson an edge. The Giants had been stealing signs. A Giant coach, stationed behind the center field fence, was clandestinely observing the opposing catcher’s signals through a telescope and relaying the signals to the Giant batters. Knowing which pitch was coming obviously gave Thompson an edge. Though Thompson and the Giants won the game, the revelation that they did so by cheating tarnishes the victory.
You and I live in a world where we are constantly tempted to compromise our convictions and standards in order to get an edge on our competitors. The allure of success, whether in business of other arenas, often overpowers the small voice of conscience. In Luke 12:2-3 Christ proclaimed, “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” I remind you that God sees and hears all we do and say, and will make it public on the day of Christ’s return. We need to live our lives in such a way that we will not be ashamed when we stand before our Lord.
Shoulder to shoulder,
Gregg
The Giants scored one run and placed two men on base while only using one out. Then, Bobby Thomson stepped to the plate against Ralph Branca, who had been brought in to replace a tiring Don Newcombe. Thomson hit the 0-1 pitch deep into the left field stands and the crowd erupted. Giants' fans swarmed the field to share in the victory and carried Thomson on their shoulders, while Branca slowly walked off the field in stunned silence.
In his new book, The Echoing Green, Joshua Prager reveals a secret that possibly gave Bobby Thompson an edge. The Giants had been stealing signs. A Giant coach, stationed behind the center field fence, was clandestinely observing the opposing catcher’s signals through a telescope and relaying the signals to the Giant batters. Knowing which pitch was coming obviously gave Thompson an edge. Though Thompson and the Giants won the game, the revelation that they did so by cheating tarnishes the victory.
You and I live in a world where we are constantly tempted to compromise our convictions and standards in order to get an edge on our competitors. The allure of success, whether in business of other arenas, often overpowers the small voice of conscience. In Luke 12:2-3 Christ proclaimed, “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” I remind you that God sees and hears all we do and say, and will make it public on the day of Christ’s return. We need to live our lives in such a way that we will not be ashamed when we stand before our Lord.
Shoulder to shoulder,
Gregg
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