Hi, this is Pastor Diego. Welcome to the daily five. Thank you for joining us today. This podcast is designed to give you a short daily Five-minute word of encouragement to inspire you to think and act on God's word Hey, welcome to today's episode today.
I want to talk to you about having what it takes to be influential in today's culture What's the single most important attribute that we need as we try to influence the culture in a positive in a productive way? Some people think that it's intellect because of course knowledge is power Others say that it's just having common sense and being able to discern things I personally think that although those two things are important the single most important attribute of those who make a lasting difference in this world is Integrity integrity and the dictionary is defined as the steadfast and constant adherence to a moral or ethical code Another dictionary entry says it's the state or quality that strives to be complete free from the corrupting influences of improper motives or methods We all have known people who had incredible intellect But who ended having little to no integrity and they have long been forgotten listen in my experience You can have a lot of good attributes But if you don't live with integrity you end up losing your voice and your influence in this world One person that I can think of in the Bible that is an example of integrity is in the Old Testament book of Daniel The Bible says in Daniel chapter 1 verse 4 that he was gifted in all wisdom possessing knowledge and he was quick to understand Now, if you don't know the story of Daniel, I suggest that you read it It's a short book But I think you'll learn a lot from it Daniel was talented and you'll see that he was gifted by God to do specific things He was a man that was living in a country far from his own home And we read that Daniel discerned the meaning of dreams and described in detail messages That were in handwriting on the wall of the palace But it was Daniel's personal integrity that set him apart from all other people and enabled him to achieve success in Daniel chapter 6 verse 3 The Bible says Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him Daniel is an example of those who influence others and engage their culture for good Integrity is being consistent in what we do in public and who we are in private Let me give you an example Integrity is what motivates a witness to tell the whole truth from the witness stand in the court When no one else would know if they were really being truthful It's personal integrity that keeps men and women in the workplace from cheating on overtime hours and expense accounts And it's personal integrity that serves to keep us honest When tax time comes around and we can easily cheat on our taxes when the IRS comes looking for our money Our culture is in desperate need of men and women of integrity Our culture is crippled by a lack of integrity It's common now to hear of those people who resign from public office Disgracefully before they're publicly exposed or arrested for some type of corruption There's even religious leaders who and whole high-profile pastors who are forced to resign due to a lack of personal integrity in their ministry No wonder our younger generation continues the question of character relieving counts anymore Daniel was an example of someone who influenced culture primarily because he lived a life of integrity You might be the smartest in the room You might be the most intense and passionate in the room But if you don't live with integrity You're going to join many others on the list of has-bends A list of people that could have accomplished greatness but didn't because they lacked integrity I want to tell you today that character does count And those who influence this world have one thing in common They are men and women of integrity Integrity is your most valuable attribute God bless you see tomorrow You've been listening to the daily vibe apply the word and make today