Walking in Integrity 行事正直

[Dexu Xia]

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely. Proverbs 10:9

Today's Scripture  Proverbs 10:6-14

Today's Insights  In Proverbs, Solomon offers basic wisdom for life and often uses a Hebrew poetic device called parallelism, where two or more lines of poetry correspond with one another. Parallelism and other poetic devices are normal features of Hebrew poetry, which doesn’t operate with rhyme and meter like Western poetry.

In synonymous parallelism, the idea in the first half of the verse is repeated in the second half but with different wording: “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke” (3:11). Proverbs 10:9 is an example of antithetical parallelism, where two statements are contrasted with opposite language: “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.” Solomon exposes the folly of ignoring God’s wisdom and shows the consequences of that folly. Today, God will help us live by His wisdom and be marked as people of character who walk in integrity.

Today's Devotion  An Uber driver named Esbon Kamau picked up a sixteen-year-old rider who was on his way to purchase a motorcycle—a gift from his father. After Kamau dropped the passenger off, he noticed the teen had left a bag in the back seat. There was $8,000 inside—the cash needed for the purchase of the motorcycle. Kamau quickly contacted Uber to try and locate the passenger. Soon Kamau delivered the cash back to the grateful, relieved young man. “Do the right thing at the right time,” Kamau said, “and don’t let selfishness overpower [you]."

Kamau displayed integrity. He resisted making a fast buck or taking advantage of someone’s mistake. Instead, he chose to simply do the right thing. “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,” Proverbs says (10:9). When we practice integrity, we never have to worry about remembering what we said to whom, because truth is our only concern. When we practice integrity, we don’t have to fear for our reputation or that our schemes will catch up with us (v. 23). We don’t have to be concerned about being a person whose “crooked paths will be found out” (v. 9). We simply live true—displaying wisdom (v. 13) that comes from God. We’re secure and free in Him.

We face numerous temptations to lie or manipulate in life, but God calls us to walk with Him. And as we do, we can lead “blameless” (v. 29) lives of integrity.  

Reflect & Pray

When has your integrity been challenged? How have you experienced others’ integrity?

Dear God, I want to live with integrity. Please help me be blameless in You.

By Winn Collier

行事正直的，步步安稳。（箴言 10:9）

今日经文：箴言 10章6-14节

今日灵修心得：在箴言中，所罗门提供了关于在世为人的基本智慧，并经常运用一种称为“平行体”的希伯来诗歌修辞手法，即两行或多行诗句彼此呼应。平行体及其他诗歌修辞手法是希伯来诗歌的常见特征，它不像西方诗歌那样讲究押韵和格律。 在“同义平行体”中，经文前半部分的思想会在后半部分以不同的措辞重复表达，例如：“我儿，你不可轻看耶和华的管教，也不可厌烦他的责备”（3:11）。箴言 10:9 则是“反义平行”的一个例子，就是用截然相反的语言来对比两句话：“行事正直的，步步安稳；行事弯曲的，必致败露。”所罗门指出，忽视神的智慧很愚昧，并指出了这种愚昧带来的后果。今天，神将帮助我们按祂的智慧生活，并成为行事正直、品格高尚的人。

 今日灵修短文：一位名叫埃斯邦·卡马乌的优步司机载了一位十六岁的少年，这名乘客正要去买一辆摩托车，那是父亲送给他的礼物。送达目的地后，卡马乌发现这名少年把一个装着 8千美元现金的包落在后座上，这正是买摩托车所需的钱。卡马乌迅速联系优步去找到这名乘客。不久，卡马乌便将现金送还给了那位既感激又如释重负的年轻人。“在适当的时候做正确的事，”卡马乌说，“不要让自私战胜了自己。”卡马乌没有贪图不义之财，也没有利用他人的疏忽占便宜，在诱惑面前他选择做正确的事，展现出正直的品格。

  箴言说：“行事正直的，步步安稳，”（10:9）。当我们行事正直时，就不必费心去记自己曾对谁说过什么话，因为我们随时随地唯一关心的就是坚持真理。当我们行事正直时，就不必担心名誉受损，也不必害怕自己耍的手段终有一天会反噬自身（ 23 节）。我们不必担心自己会成为那种“弯曲的道路终必败露”的人（9节）。我们只需活出真诚，彰显那源自神的智慧（13节）。在祂里面，我们享有安全与自由。 生活中，我们常面临说谎或玩弄手段的诱惑，但神呼召我们与祂同行。只要我们这样做，就能过上正直且“无可指责”的生活（29节）。

 反思与祷告 你的正直曾受到过怎样的挑战？你又是如何见证他人的正直的？ 亲爱的神，我愿活出正直。求祢帮助我在祢里面成为无可指责的人。

作者：温恩·科利尔