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Key Bible Verse: The godly walk with integrity (Proverbs 20:7). Bonus reading: Psalm 1

Wess Stafford, the president of Compassion International, once offered us some thoughts on leadership, which included insights on what sank the Titanic. Most people think an iceberg sank the ship, but Wess said that's only half the story. Many similar ships had collided with icebergs and emerged intact. And it would have been virtually impossible for an iceberg to penetrate the double thick steel hull of the Titanic. No, the Titanic sank because of three million faulty rivets that held the steel to the ship's hull. Apparently, during the manufacturing of these rivets, the plant cut a few corners and used substandard iron to save a few bucks. The force of the collision with the iceberg created immense pressure on the rivets, which caused them to catastrophically fail. Thus, the steel plating of the ship's hull catapulted off the frame allowing the freezing waters of the Atlantic to rush inside the doomed ship.

We must realize life is about the rivets, the little details. We must acknowledge whether we are cutting corners and identify where we are vulnerable. When the pressure comes, will we be able to stand the force or will our hull be compromised?

—Mike Foster & Jud Wilhite in Deadly Viper Character Assassins

My Response: When life's major pressures come my way in the future, what do I need to be doing right now to make sure my "rivets" don't pop?

Thought to Apply: Character is the sum and total of a person's choices.—P. B. Fitzwater (author)

Adapted from Deadly Viper Character Assassins by Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite (Zondevan, 2009) by permission.

Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Lord, protect me from perfectionism and legalism. Help me to lean on you and your grace so that I might become a better man and leader.

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