Due to the pork barrel scam, a lot of government officials and others in the private sector are in the hot seat right now and are in the eyes of the public already guilty of graft and corruption. That’s just how it is. Aided by media, people can easily judge and condemn others without due process. Are these people guilty or not? Hopefully, we’ll soon find out who are really guilty and who are not and hopefully, may justice really prevail “without fear or favor.”

Is Honesty Still Important?

This reminds me of what the psalmist said in Psalm 15. He asked, “Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?” (Psalm 15:1) In other words—if I may take the liberty of interpreting and applying this hymn or song into our modern times—the psalmist was asking, “Lord, who is worthy to enter your kingdom of heaven and live with you for all eternity?”

And the psalmist answered his own question by saying that this kind of person has this kind of attitude and character: “The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent” (Psalm 15:2-5).

These are men and women of integrity. They are not corrupt and will not accept bribes. They have pure hearts willing to serve God and their fellowmen. They fully trust their lives to God no matter what.

The psalmist assures people with integrity that they will have their place in God’s kingdom by concluding, “Whoever does these things will never be shaken” (Psalm 15:5). Their reward is assured. They will be in God’s kingdom. The Lord will gladly welcome them with open arms.

With so many corrupt people in government, we really need more people with integrity to lead our people and our country today.

“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.” (NIV James 3:1-2)

As a young ministerial trainee in 1985 and then later on as a young pastor more than 25 years ago, our leaders used to remind us of this verse. Since pastors are in preaching and teaching positions, we were always reminded that we will be judged more strictly. We therefore had to make sure that we were preaching and teaching faithfully according to God’s Word in the Bible. We were constantly reminded to be careful with whatever we preach and teach. Words can either edify or destroy the hearers.

Preaching & Teaching Responsibility

This is always a good reminder to all pastors and teachers and to all of us. With the advent of social media like Facebook for example, a lot of people can now express their views openly and we can be careless with what we share. The apostle James’ words should remind us constantly to be careful with whatever thoughts or views we share to others online.

When you want to share something, first ask: Is it according to God’s Word? Does it edify and build up others? Or does it destroy others and it only exalts your own ego? Those who presume to be teachers, those who would-be-pastors, and those who think they know better than others, should think twice before they say anything because those “who teach will be judged more strictly.”