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Key Bible Verse: "No," they replied, "you have never cheated or oppressed us in any way [or] taken even a single bribe" (1 Samuel 12:4). Bonus Reading: 1 Sam. 12:1-5

Ever thought about what you'll want to say when you wrap up your life? Will you think about work you didn't do? A meeting you didn't attend? Customers you didn't win over?

When Samuel, the old prophet, looked back over his life, he could challenge the Israelites, "Look at my life and see if it adds up." He asked them to remember how he'd treated people. They agreed that he'd been as good as his word—that he'd lived with integrity.

I know many people who've lived that way. My father was one of them. When he said "yes" he meant yes. When he said "no" nothing on earth could move him. As a child I thought that way of life was too rigid and harsh. I know better now.

The world needs more people who can reach the end and say, "I've done it right." I don't mean they're perfect. No one is. But they live consistently. Nothing's more damaging to a man's reputation than the charge that he's a hypocrite. To claim to be one thing while actually being another is absurd. Faith gives us the courage to live what we say and say what we live. That is what Samuel had done. That's what I want to do. What about you?

—Don M. Aycock, pastor

My Response: Could I, like Samuel, challenge others to spot a lapse in my conduct?

Thought to Apply: A person who lives right and is right has more power in his silence than another has by words. —Phillips Brooks (Massachusetts pastor)

Prayer for the Week

Sovereign Lord, keep me from envying the accomplishments of others. Instead, make me grateful for and content with the gifts You've entrusted to me.

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