"The Lord Looked and Was Displeased"

My oldest son, Benjamin, is currently doing a college course on Canadian Pentecostalism. He read me a quote today about a well known minister who had been a real estate sales person before he became a pastor. He had such a good reputation that it was said of him that there were only two people who's word you could depend on: God and this man.

Can you just imagine this being said about you? I know it is something I want to have said about me. I want to be dependable. I want to be known as being honest and that I am a woman of integrity. It is so important that we be people of honor and integrity. People should be able to count on our word as being true. Otherwise who can depend on us? If we don't have honesty then we lose the respect of others and if we don't have integrity how can we respect ourselves?

Dishonesty will eat away at our heart until our heart develops a hardness much like a callous. Once work worn hands develop callouses very little sensation can affect the hands at all. This is not a condition we want our hearts to be in. Dishonesty starts in little ways and at first it pricks our conscience but we push that uncomfortable feeling down and ignore it. After awhile we let another and another chance to be honest slip by and we start hardening our heart to the point that our heart is not affected at all by telling a lie or doing something that is not honorable.

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming towards Him, He said:

 “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” John 1:47
Nathanael had a wonderful testimony! He was an honest man, full of integrity and Jesus knew this and wanted to share it with everyone who was listening. Jesus was proud of him!

Isaiah 59:1-4 says:

¹ Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
   nor his ear too dull to hear.
² But your iniquities have separated
   you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
   so that he will not hear.
³ For your hands are stained with blood,
   your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken falsely,
   and your tongue mutters wicked things.
⁴ No one calls for justice;
   no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;
   they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.

Isaiah goes on to say in chapter 59 verses 14 and 15:
 ¹⁴ So justice is driven back,
   and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets,
   honesty cannot enter.
¹⁵ Truth is nowhere to be found,
   and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
   The LORD looked and was displeased
   that there was no justice.

I think one of the most important verses of this passage is the last one: "the Lord looked and was displeased". God is not pleased with His creation when we use our words to hurt others or to hold deceit in our hearts. He is not pleased when we fail to be honest. We dishonor Him and bring dishonor to ourselves. I want the Lord to look on me and be pleased. I want those around me to be able to depend on me and on my word. Let me encourage you to do the same. Let's be honest and dependable and full of integrity and thereby draw others to Christ.

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