Are you living as one man, or two? Integrity means being the same man everywhere, because who you are when nobody’s watching is who you really are.
Pastor Steve Alessi opens this week’s study of Proverbs 11 with a question that hits close to home: why do we shift so easily from kid with the buddies, to closed-off at home, to foul-mouthed at work, to Bible-quoting with the church guys? In Proverbs 11:3, Solomon draws a hard line between the man guided by integrity and the man undone by duplicity. The first has one life to keep track of. The second is always one slip from being exposed.
Integrity is simply being the same man everywhere. The man you are at church is the man you are at home, and the man you are when the boss is watching is the man you are when no one is. Steve shares the story of a man who drove back to a store to return extra change, not because anyone was watching, but because he was watching himself. That’s integrity as a compass: you decide who you are before you walk into the expense report, the tax return, the phone in your hand, or the conversation with a woman who isn’t your wife. Duplicity does the opposite. Maintaining two versions of yourself means remembering, hiding, covering, and defending until one version exposes the other. Integrity is freedom, because there’s only one you. And trust takes years to build but only moments to destroy.
Verse of the Day: Proverbs 11:3
Your Daily Man-Up Challenge:
Ask yourself one question: is there any area of my life where I’m being two different men? If so, identify one place where your integrity needs to tighten up, and deal with it today.
NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL?
Welcome!
The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world.
Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle.
Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his son, Chris Alessi, and his sons-in-law Christopher Muina, Christian Calatayud, and Dani Burgos.
Join us every weekday to man up!
MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY
Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including:
My Morning Devotional
The Family Business with The Alessis
The Mary and Martha Show
You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here!
