Do What is Right

February 29|Make it Real Series

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TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. James 5:4

Read: James 5:4
Listen: James 5

TODAY’S MESSAGE

James rebukes his rich readers and their unjust treatment of their workers. Wealthy landowners failed to pay harvesters for work completed in their fields. God is not happy about this. James notes, “The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty” (James 5:4). God is the one who sees and knows all—no injustice escapes his notice. James calls his readers to live with integrity, knowing that God sees even acts done in “secret” (see Romans 2:16).

Integrity means being the same in public as in private. It includes doing the right thing even when no one else is looking. We can fail to be fully truthful or upright in our dealings just as the wealthy landowners were. Living with integrity often means doing the right thing even when it hurts. It can mean fully divulging information when selling a car or a smaller item on marketplace—even if the admission will cost you money. Integrity includes avoiding “stretching the truth” and choosing complete honesty—even when it may be inconvenient. God calls us to be upright, fair and just in all our dealings. This is the life of integrity God intends for us to lead.

TODAY: A life of integrity includes making things right. Ask God to reveal if you need to talk with someone to make a wrong right. Is there someone you owe time or money? Is there a lie or half-truth that you need to confess? Walking with integrity is challenging. But it is the good path that God has for us to walk. What step can you take today to right a wrong with someone?