Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, December 3, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
“Integrity is everything.” So says a friend of mine’s dad, and he’s not wrong. In this case, it almost got Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego burned alive. But, thankfully, God showed up to prevent it, because those three had refused to worship anyone other than God.
In our day-to-day lives, sometimes it feels like we get left hanging when we choose to act based on integrity rather than by following the crowd. As adolescents, we get ostracized from the “in crowd.” As adults, we get passed over for promotion at work, or lose our positions on committees, or lose friendships, or lose elections. And we’re angry because we’re doing “what’s right” and where is God?
I’ll be honest. It doesn’t always make sense. In fact sometimes it feels like it seldom does. All I can do is trust that God is in the midst of whatever challenges I’m facing, and God is integrity, so that when I act with integrity, I am allowing God to be God, and getting on with my own next right action. It might not always turn out in a way that I think is “fair.” But I will never wonder about my own conduct in the situation.
When has acting with integrity worked against me? How do I reconcile this in my world view?
