Goal for 2009

Okay, yesterday I said I intended to chase shadows.  And while it's all very well to chase shadows, there is a chance that I may not catch any.  What then?  Will this new year have been wasted?

No.  I won't make catching a shadow my goal for 2009, because so many things influence whether or not I will succeed.  My goal for 2009 is instead to walk in integrity—and then when I fail, I will have absolutely no excuse.  For someone who likes excuses, this 'no excuses' bit is important.

--But as for me, I will walk in my integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me.    Psalm 26:11

I read this a few days ago, and it grabbed me because to walk in integrity is hard.  Maybe, though, I'm the only person who thinks the phrase 'walk in integrity' means to ensure that beliefs line up with actions—and then, when the beliefs are congruent with the actions, to keep away from compromise.

And when I read it, I wrote a list of things that I should do to walk in integrity.  It was a short list—so I obviously didn't put enough thought into it—but here are some of the things that I wrote. These require a real change in my actions.

-witness to others about the Lord Jesus Christ
-give money to charity
-stay away from gossip, refuse to partake in it, and most especially NOT spread gossip myself
-refuse to 'hide' and subtly change myself among unbelieving relatives.  (How can I be a witness if I'm always downplaying differences and trying not to have them think I'm strange or offend them simply by being different?)

And an extra one:

-study the Bible.  It's God's Word and it's important to know what God says, not take someone else's word for it.  And if God says something, then He means it.  No ifs or buts.

So, my goal for this year is just to get closer to walking in integrity, just to begin to make my actions the same as my beliefs.  It's all very well to believe something, but if that belief does not influence action, it is pretty worthless.  And so, my beliefs and my actions must grow closer.

If that happens, 2009 will not have been wasted, no matter what else happens or doesn't happen.

Actually, no, I need to learn to pray.  So my goal will firstly be to learn to pray, and then to walk in integrity.  Or maybe learning to pray is the first step in walking in integrity.  It could be.