Is it better?

I am writing this blog in an effort to praise God for all that he has done in my life and also in an effort to uplift those around me that are willing to take the time to read it.

Have you ever heard someone say how much better life was in the old days? If only we could go back then... Or that the Bible times were so much better, with all the prophets, and God speaking to man. Understand that I do not want to deny any nostalgic memories to those who go on wishing for the better days, but I have a different view on this.
Here is my premise: man is a flawed sinful being in need of a savior, not matter what age he lives in. Period. It is that simple. Think about it. Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, in the presence of God himself, had very few commands to follow (mainly keep the garden and don't touch that fruit), and yet they still broke the command of God. And that is sin. Breaking the command of God. And it hasn't stopped since. In the patriarchal age God spoke directly to man, addressing the main leader of the families like Abraham and Noah for example. Yet the world became so sinful and man was so evil that it repented God that he had created man (Gen 6:6) And he destroyed the earth with the flood, sparing Noah and his family. Then the earth gets repopulated and in the time of Abraham, God wipes out Sodom and Gomorrah (see Gen 19) because they were so evil.
So maybe it was better for Israel, God's chosen nation. They were lucky enough to be handpicked by God to get all his wisdom and guidance on how to best live on this earth (see Exodus, Deuteronomy and Leviticus). He gave them commands on how to prosper in health, wealth, relationships, and he told them exactly what he expected them to do and give for worship. It was there, in written form for them. He even performed many miracles for them in their deliverance from Egypt and subsequent time in the wilderness. But he kept having to send judges to guide them, because even though they could simply be guided by God himself through his written word, they could not seem to grasp the concept of God being the leader of their nation. They wanted to be like the nations around them and have a "real" king, just like them. And so God gave them kings. And they were still sinful. They worshiped false gods, sacrificed their children to Baal, and generally disregarded God's laws and wisdom. Until, as punishment, they were carried out into captivity and only a remnant of them was left to return to Israel.
However throughout these ancient times there lived faithful men willing to honor God and serve him, from Noah to Moses, and Moses through David, Josiah and Hezekiah, and all the prophets, such as Samuel, Ezekiel and Jeremiah.
And even if we look at the present age (the Christian era, or the last days), the Jews rejected Christ, as most of the world still does, false teachers rose up right away to corrupt the message, and believers were persecuted for following Christ, but there were and are faithful men willing to serve him and live according to God's will. So that is the take-away, really. No matter where you live, no matter what circumstances encompass you, you can chose to be obedient to God. He gave you this wonderful gift of freedom of choice. So each and every one of us has the freedom of deciding to obey his voice, his commands found in his word. Every era, every generation has its evil and its good. There is not one better than the other, from the beginning of time forward, they are just different. And in every era and in every generation there is a remnant of faithful that chose to obey him, even if the world around them is evil and compromised. God is not asking you to wish for better times and better circumstances, he wants you now. He wants you to chose to serve him and trust him. Trust that he knows what is best for you, trust that his commands are not grievous and that they are a blessing to those who chose to follow them, regardless of where you are and when you live.

Integrity: are you incomplete?

Integrity, a concept that has come to my attention lately. 
According to the Miriam-Webster's dictionary it means:

1: firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values : incorruptibility

2: an unimpaired condition : soundness

3: the quality or state of being complete or undivided : completeness

To me, all three of those definitions are closely related, to the point of being interchangeable. Because if you are not complete, you are not sound, and it is impossible to be complete without adhering to a code of values. Let me elaborate...

Let's start with the code. What is your code? What are your standards? Do you have any, or do you change as the situations change? My code is the Bible. I have found it to be a reliable source of wisdom, as it is the word of the God who created us. Just like when you want to know something about your iphone, you would go to Apple, when you want to know more about humans, their relationships and how to live in this life, you go to the creator of mankind.  In all his wisdom he gave us the record of Solomon's search for the meaning of life in Ecclesiastes. After his long search, trying everything under the sun, with nothing held back, he concluded in Ecc 12:13  "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." The word duty here was supplied by the translator, but the original text says the "whole of man". The root of the Hebrew word used for whole means complete. Keeping god's commandments will make you complete, whole, sound. 

Why is that? Is not the Bible too restrictive, with all its "shall not"? Can it even be relevant in this modern world? To that I will answer a resounding and absolute "yes!". It can be relevant, because if you really think about it, human nature has not changed that much over all the time that we have been blessed to occupy this earth. And it is not in us to consistently find the right path, as Jeremiah so well declared:in Jer 10:23  'O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." Jeremiah recognized that we are fallible but God is good and perfect. He loves us so much that he is willing to guide us through this life, all we have to do is to trust him and follow his lead. Pro 3:5-6  "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." And He can do this because of his divine nature, as Isaiah writes in Isa 55:8-9  "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." 

With that in mind, let's highlight a couple of points. First, the standard that allows you to have integrity is outside of yourself. It is something bigger than you. It calls for noble actions and hard choices, made easier by the undying conviction and knowledge that those actions and choices are right. Period. Second, since the code itself is infallible, since it comes from God, when we fail to have integrity it is because of our own departure from what is right.

We all know we are not perfect. So what makes us deviate from the path that God has set before us? 

• Fear. Fear of the consequences, fear of change, fear of the unknown, fear of getting caught in our sin (sin being the transgression of God's law, or violating the code)
• Anger. Anger is an emotion that, if left unchecked, can override our brain and our best judgement.
• Impulses. Action before thought. This one is one that pits our flesh against our spirit. And if the desire is strong, often our impulses to follow the flesh wins out.
• Temptation. The devil is present in this world and actively seeking to win the souls of those who have chosen to serve God. (1 Pe 5:8) He will try you, be sure of it. And sometimes we make the wrong choices and sin.

This life is not easy, but we can make it easier on us by allowing God to guide us through His Word. Our reward will be that we will be whole. We will have integrity. People will know that we consistently behave in the same right manner and that we can be trusted.

The benefits of integrity are numerous. In a more practical and materialistic way, did you know that the one characteristic that sets billionaires apart from all the others, the characteristic that allowed them to prosper is this: fanatical levels of integrity.

Integrity will also bring peace to your soul. It allows you to have a set way to make decisions that will never fail you. It allows you to be who God made you to be by acting in accordance to the principles that will make your soul whole. 

It also allows you to not be easily influenced by the whims and moods of others. Your decisions are not hinged on the drama that is going on around you, but on a set of principles. It tends to make situations much clearer, and decisions easier to follow through. 

So if you feel incomplete, if you are missing part of your soul, it could be that you are simply missing the instructions that you need to be whole.