Samuel's Integrity
By Mike Prom, Headwaters Christian Youth, Wise Intentional Leadership Development, (WISE) Rhinelander, Wis.

Having lived a long life as a public figure (the prophet of Israel), Samuel stood before all of Israel (1 Samuel 12:1-4). Hundreds of thousands of people, maybe well over a million, gathered to hear the old man speak. Samuel had served the people of Israel for a long time, from the time of being a boy to now an old, gray-haired man. He was not a perfect person. He had two sons who were dishonest, perverting justice and accepting bribes. They were people of corruption, following in their father’s footsteps.(1 Samuel 8:1-4).

As Samuel rose in order for all of Israel to see, he set several questions before each person. In his own words, Samuel asked, “Have I stolen anything from anyone of you?” “Have I cheated or forced anyone to give me anything, taken a bribe to give an unfair decision or been a person of corruption?” “If I have done any of these things, I will give it all back!”

Not one person of the huge crowd shouted out that Samuel had cheated or been unfair to him or her. That is amazing. This indicates, too, that if Samuel had been unfair to anyone during his long tenure as prophet, he made things right, right away.

Talk about a person of integrity, someone who would teach the Bible and live out what he or she teaches.

If I were to gather together all the people you know (family, friends, classmates, fellow employees) and ask the same questions Samuel asked, what would be the response of the people you know? It would be fair play to do the same to me.

Ask yourself (or often for a more realistic assessment, someone who knows you well) how honest you are? When you do something against someone, do you shrug it off and think to yourself that what you did was not a big deal or perhaps that person deserved what you did? Think about how often in your life time, someone came to you seeking forgiveness when they did something against you. Do you need more than one hand to count the number of times?

Now, when you did something to someone, how often have you gone to ask for forgiveness and possibly offer restitution? Going to someone and saying, “I am sorry, but…(it was your fault or I could not help myself or whatever other excuse that can be given),” is not seeking forgiveness but rather rationalizing your actions.

It is difficult to humble yourself and admit that you have done wrong to another person. How you handle yourself after committing a sin or hurting someone shows the real character of a person. What kind of character is inside of you? This world needs to see a generation of young people who just do not talk about Jesus but live how He would live and think as He would think. Let no one be able to throw dirt on your Christian testimony.