I am saddened by the news of late that uncovered a college admission scandal. Wealthy parents were caught buying their kid entrance into a college with bribes and cheating. ALL for them to feel good about their own images and to be able to say, “My kid goes to XYZ school. Isn’t that amazing?” Wow. Just so sad. The consequences of this are not just that it’s wrong but that the message they are sending their kid is that whatever it takes, get ahead in life. Sell your soul if you have to. Character doesn’t matter. What does matter is what you look like on the outside and what others think about you!? Such a lie from the pit of hell.
Jesus asks what good it is for a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul, (Matt 16:26) To gain the whole world is to receive all the world has to offer—money, fame, pleasure, power, prestige, etc. To lose one’s soul is to die without a right relationship with Christ and spend an eternity in the lake of fire. Moreover, how can you live with integrity and a clean heart knowing you have cheated your way through life? Is this peace? Who have you hurt along the way? So many issues here that I cannot even comprehend all that is wrong with the world.
HOWEVER, they know not what they do so don’t point fingers. We are all sinners, yes. SO we must love the world and be lights to the world. Let’s show them how a RIGHT relationship with Jesus leads to peace everlasting and fulfillment that FAR surpasses fame, fortune and fancy. That is all fleeting and will only lead to need of more and more. Never fulfilled.
This leads me to raising Tatum. Tatum, integrity is doing the right thing when NO ONE is watching. God always sees your heart, your motives, and your actions. So live for HIM. Live with this perspective. Live with loving HIM, loving OTHERS, and then loving yourself (to thine own self be true). If you do this, you’ll live OUT a life of love. It’s automatic. Being mindful of what Christ did for you on the cross leads to a life of gratitude and GIVING. Not “take take take and how many we can step on to get the world’s definition of success.”
Let’s raise the next generation to be more motivated by character than by image. Where your heart is, there is your treasure.