Integrity of the Heart

A passage I read this morning affirmed it is possible we can take credit for things we ought to primarily credit God for doing.  While God has given mankind the freedom to choose what we will believe, think, say and do, He always is personally involved when we do what is right.  He helped Abimelech to walk in integrity when he had been deceived by Abraham and Sarah during a visit to his land.

When Abraham visited Gerar, he and Sarai both lied and claimed to be siblings when they were husband and wife.  As was customary in those days, if a beautiful woman came into a king's territory he had the authority to bring her into his home--which he did, for Sarah was beautiful.  God appeared to Abimelech in a dream and rebuked him for taking a married woman into his house, and Abimelech protested he had done nothing wrong.  Genesis 20:5-6 reads, "Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she, even she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this." ⁶ And God said to him in a dream, "Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her."  God commanded Abimelech return Sarah to Abraham, and he immediately complied the following day.

Abimelech had walked with integrity, yet he was not alone in doing so:  God helped him to do so and kept him from touching Sarah.  From God's perspective, it was only by God's gracious intervention Abimelech could do what he knew was right and prevented him from transgression.  If we walk in integrity before God and man, we cannot claim this goodness or ability arises naturally from us.  We are able to be upright because God has provided a solid foundation for our feet and strength to stand.  Should we fall into sin and do wickedly, it was our own choice God sovereignly allowed, for He is even able to redeem evil for good to those who love God.

The hope Christians have is never in our ability to exonerate ourselves or successfully protest our innocence but in admitting our sinfulness and placing our faith in God who imputes His righteousness to us by His grace.  Abimelech was deceived in this passage by Abraham and Sarah, and we can be deceived by ourselves to think we can walk in integrity without constant help from God who supplies strength, wisdom and grace.  When our hearts are marked by integrity and innocence, should we do righteously and what is godly, let us thank and praise God for His sustaining, guiding hand in our lives to help us live in the way that pleases Him and how God keeps us from doing evil.