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But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”            1 Samuel 16:7 I was reading awhile back about a man who worked for a bank in a large city. On the ground floor of this bank building, there was a cafeteria. Day after day, this man would get a two-cent pat of butter and hide it under his roll so that he wouldn’t have to pay for it when he got through the line. Now, this went on for a month or so. And eventually, people began to watch him and noticed him stealing the butter. So it was reported to the bank president, who subsequently fired him on the spot saying, “If I can’t trust a man with a two-cent pat of butter, how can I trust him with thousands of dollars?” I wonder how many believers God doesn’t use because they’re not faithful in the little things. Yes, they may go to church, serve on a committee or two, sit in the front row, and bring the best dish to the picnic. But when it comes to actual obedience, they’ve strayed in the little things. Today’s passage couldn’t be clearer. While the world defines the outward appearance as important, God looks beyond that and into your heart. So if you want God to do something great in your life, be obedient in the little things and He’ll bless you beyond your imagination! BE OBEDIENT IN THE LITTLE THINGS OF LIFE AND GOD WILL DO BIG THINGS IN AND THROUGH YOU!

The Importance of Integrity

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens: And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.”
Exodus 18:21–22

Jacques Necker is little remembered now, but in the period leading up to the French Revolution, he was one of the most important people in all of France. He served Louis XVI as Finance Minister, and was basically in control of most of the French economy. It was a turbulent time during which many government officials were using their position to line their own pockets. This corruption helped lead to the overthrow of the government. But Necker was an exception to that trend. He was so honest that when his estate burned, he ensured that the tax receipts collected for the government were rescued first. And even though as a result he lost all of his personal possessions, Necker still turned in the full amount of the taxes.
There are few things that tempt people more than money. The temptation to cut corners to get a little more has been around for a very long time. When Moses was encouraged by his father-in-law to appoint men to help judge the Israelites, one of the most important characteristics they needed to have was that they were not possessed with a spirit of covetousness. The culture around us is geared toward creating dissatisfaction and encouraging people to want more and more. Yet we must beware that it is only a short step from desiring to make our lives better, which is not wrong, to coveting what others have.
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

There are very few things that do more to reveal our true integrity than the way we manage money.