Christian

Ethics

Integrity

Principles

Reputation

Doubtful that many will read and understand this post.

Grateful I know who I am. Thankful I have experienced God for myself.

I am a Christian. I am a believer of Jesus. I was baptized when I was a senior in high school. Now at the age of 52, I can look back and see how God was taking me on a journey to end up where I am now. I had a love for teaching teens in Bible study when I became a young adult. I had a passion for teaching during the children’s hour in worship. God then stretched me to begin speaking and teaching young adult women after I was married and had children of my own. From there I began praying for people while walking down the streets. This led to serving in prayer ministries and writing books on prayer. God continues to use me. I speak around the world to women and girls. I share the gospel of Jesus from pulpits of churches, and during one-on-one discipleship coffees. God continues to use me. I facilitate with others during a weekly women’s Bible study. I am joyful to be used by God.

Early in my journey, there were Christian principles that were instilled in me. Thou shall not lie was one of them. There was something about lying that became dirty for me. Even speaking the whitest lie (whatever that is) caused me to feel grimy. Something happened to me the day I said yes to God. No, I am not a saint, but I do try to live my life as the instruction books calls me to live. Daily I try to live my life in alignment with being a Christian. Yes, I fall short at times, therefore, I am careful not to judge, but…

If I am to believe Jesus (and I do) I have to do what I can to live my life accordingly.

I will begin with the beginning.

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” ² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” ⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. ⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” ¹¹ And he said, “Who told you that you were naked?” [Genesis 3:1-11 NIV]

Ethics

Integrity

Reputation

Being under the influence of one who is “more crafty” will have you doing things you would have never imagined. It may start out as an innocent conversation, but as you can see in the Scriptures (Genesis 3) the conversation soon turned into doing something more.

In my transparency, I can share how cool it would feel when I would be invited to stand on certain platforms. I can share how powerful it would feel to be included in certain circles. I can share how it felt to be surrounded by security as one being ushered to offices of well-known public figures. However, at a certain point, I started paying attention to what was happening around me and started realizing that I was compromising my Christian ethics, integrity, principles, and reputation.

Beware of the one that asks, “Did (they) really say.” In the case of Genesis 3, the serpent said to the women, “Did God really say.” I have said it for years that the woman talked way too much. That is a yes or no question. However, she started to describe and prove her answer. She gave the serpent leverage to manipulate her and to get her doubting what she knew was true.

As I share in my book Who Told You That? The Truth About the Lies we must be careful how much information we give. People who are insecure will play off of our words to use against us. There is a lack of integrity when they speak. The moment someone says, “….really say” run. Stop talking, change the subject, or simply walk away. No…run! You may find yourself caught with your back against the wall trying to defend your point, which may lead you to doubting and sacrificing what you know to be the truth. Your integrity is compromised once you forgo your Christian principles to align with someone whose goal is to make you disregard the truth.

Be honest when answering the question, “Who told you…” ~ Tweetable @GailDudley

It can be easy to cover up the truth or give the truth a spin, but in the end, you are the one being held accountable. #PurposefullySavvy ~ Tweetable @GailDudley

Dare I go there? Yes, it is what I do. When I watch past and current US presidential administration there’s a cloud of untruths that causes me to wonder what others are thinking when they are hearing, and reading one thing, but soon see the truth through their own eyes. There have been many times lately when I will see a double screen of someone saying something last year, month, and/or day then try to spin it as if it was never said or not said as it has been reported. What is happening to their Christian ethics, integrity, principles, and reputation? I learned while growing up that you only have your reputation. Once that is compromised it may never return.

What are people who are “seeking” think about Christianity? There’s this belief that one who holds the office of president is Christian, and yet we are witnessing something that does not line up with Christian principles and values.

I took a step back the other day after watching video after video of what caused my spirit to grieve. I watched with my own eyes person after person getting before the camera saying one thing one day then saying that they did not say it the next day. I sat there watching yelling at the television, “Yes, you did! Watch the tape!” I asked myself, “If I were not already a Christian, would seeing this play out draw me to be one?”

This is my question to you. Watching the ongoing spin, untruths, and individuals covering up the truth; what would it take for you to be a Christian today?

We are at the tipping point. What will you do to make a change? How will you help influence your community with the truth? Read some amazing articles by investing in a quarterly publication published by Gail Dudley and her daughter Dominiq Dudley. Click the link to purchase the upcoming release (releasing on October 7): The Tipping Point