Broken House Keys and Integrity

Do you see the broken key in the picture above?  This is what I found as I was frantically trying to open the front door over the Christmas season?  When I finally realized that my key was broken and would not work I immediately knew who and what happened to it.
A few days earlier one of my children came barreling into my room asking for my keys to unlock the back door.  I graciously gave the keys and that was the end of it...so I thought.  Obviously during that fateful moment my house key suffered an excruciating decapitation and was no more!
Realizing what had transpired a few days prior I immediately went to my child and asked "Did you do this?"  Sheepishly she replied, 'yes' and immediately became concerned over the punishment that would be handed down.  She was fully expecting a severe punishment which is why she did not tell me of the broken key when it happened.
Her concern was, "I broke Dad's key.  I'm in big trouble!"  What she failed to realize is the broken key was no big deal.  Broken keys can be remedied, but living without integrity is disastrous beyond repair.  Not telling dad about the broken key is lying and lying is the worst!
My wife and I have been working with all of our children, but especially this particular child on always being "tirelessly committed" to the truth.  By hiding the broken key and hoping Dad would not find it she lived without integrity.  She knows that is the worst of all the things she can do. We talk about it often in our home.  We were able to have a healthy and redeeming conversation with her about what the broken key represented.
It made me ponder, however, what areas of my life am I attempting to act as if the key is not broken?  Plainly stated, where am I acting without integrity?  As we start 2018 I think this is something worth examining.
Proverbs 11:3 states, "The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity."
Proverbs 28:6 states, "Better the poor whose walk is blameless than the rich whose way is perverse."

Those verses are sobering truths.  I encourage you to take some time and consider where you need to quit attempting to deceive yourself and others and face the fact the key is broken.  Failing to do so could destroy you!

As always, if you have a question please email me at reeves.cannon@sandhurst.net.

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