Size Doesn't Matter

"As long as I live,
while I have breath from God,
my lips will speak no evil,
and my tongue will speak no lies.
I will never concede that you are right;
I will defend my integrity until I die.
I will maintain my innocence without wavering.
My conscience is clear for as long as I live." Job 27:1-6 NLT

Job is speaking this to his friends that have been telling him that the reason that he has been having such tragedy in his life of late is because he must have had wickedness in his heart or had done something very wrong against His God and His God is punishing him.

Job is declaring his innocence. He is stating that he is not going to admit to doing something wrong in order to appease his 'friends', his counselors. He knows that he is right with his God and his conscience is cleared.

Have you been in that situation? You're with your friends heading into a restaurant and you find a $100 in the parking lot. They say, "You lucky dog. You should go ahead and keep it. You'll never find the true owner." What do you do? Money's been tight and that $100 would truly help the ends meet this month. And your friends are probably right--how would the restaurant find it's owner? The temptation is great--but ask yourself--what would Jesus do? Yup, Jesus would turn that money in. What happens to it isn't your business. What is your business is the condition of your conscience and the example that you are setting for your friends.

We are surrounded every day by little & big temptations that would affect our conscience, which in turn would affect our relationship with our Lord. But with the Lord, I don't think that there is big & little--big sin, little sin--size doesn't matter to Jesus. Sin is sin. Temptation is temptation. You just don't do it.

We are our own worst enemies at times. We want to please. We want to fit in with our 'crowd'. We want what we want. We want to please God but sometimes it's easier to give in to peer-pressure, self-pressure, world-pressure, than it is to stay strong in our God and lean on His strength and stand up for what is right.

Doing right isn't very often easy. Especially on your own. The secret? Jesus. Yes, Jesus is there just waiting for you to ask Him for help. For strength. For wisdom. How do you ask? By praying. How do you know? By being in His Word. And you need to surround yourself with accountability friends that are also strong in prayer and His Word.

Isn't that what Job did? Job knew his God so intimately, that he knew that he wasn't being punished. He knew that his conscience was clear. So he was strong enough to stay clear of temptation.

How's your conscience? Have you checked it lately? Humbly take it to Jesus and make it right. You'll be so blessed!