If no one is watching, what would we do?

If no one is watching, what would we do?

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link. [https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church] https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church Scripture: Jesus also said to the disciples, “A certain rich man heard that his household manager was wasting his estate. He called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give me a report of your administration because you can no longer serve as my manager.’ “The household manager said to himself, What will I do now that my master is firing me as his manager? I’m not strong enough to dig and too proud to beg. I know what I’ll do so that, when I am removed from my management position, people will welcome me into their houses. “One by one, the manager sent for each person who owed his master money. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He said, ‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your contract, sit down quickly, and write four hundred fifty gallons.’ Then the manager said to another, ‘How much do you owe?’ He said, ‘One thousand bushels of wheat.’ He said, ‘Take your contract and write eight hundred.’ “The master commended the dishonest manager because he acted cleverly. People who belong to this world are more clever in dealing with their peers than are people who belong to the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it’s gone, you will be welcomed into the eternal homes. “Whoever is faithful with little is also faithful with much, and the one who is dishonest with little is also dishonest with much. Consider: “Character is what you do when no one is watching.” - John Wooden In a world where “bigger is better” seems to be the primary messaging of choice, this passage turns a few things on their heads. Those with power and authority are directly called out for grand gestures of attention seeking and transactional public living, while those on the outside, those with nothing, become the focus of exaltation. Jesus shifts the focus away from the grand to the granular… Integrity is not proven in the spotlight; it is revealed in the quiet choices we make everyday. The ones nobody applauds, but are done anyway because they are needed. The way we answer an email, keep a promise, handle money, speak about someone who is absent, or respond to inconvenience says far more about our character than the occasional public display of virtue. The world often assumes that character will appear when the big moment arrives. Jesus teaches the opposite. The big moment simply exposes what has already been formed in the small moments. A million small moments shape and form the bigger character of a person…and what we do in all those small moments truly matters. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus at the end of the chapter reinforces this truth. The rich man’s failure was not merely what he did publicly but what he ignored daily. Every day he passed by a suffering man at his gate. The tragedy was not a single catastrophic decision but a pattern of unnoticed choices, repeated over time. Compassion was available to him in ordinary encounters, yet he continually looked away. So some questions come to mind here: How do we treat people who cannot advance our careers? How do we speak to family members when we are tired? How do we handle responsibilities when there is no accountability? These day to day, hour to hour little decisions build the shape and form of our true character, not just that one big check written once, or that beautiful prayer spoken loudly. Luke 16 invites us to stop waiting for a great opportunity to prove our faithfulness. Today’s small choices are already doing that. Every interaction, every responsibility, every unseen act of obedience is forming a life of integrity before God. Respond: For today, consider this question: What small responsibility has God placed in front of me that I may be tempted to overlook? Consider WHY you may be tempted to overlook it…does it feel too small to matter? Does it not provide the social capital you would want? Pray: God help me to be faithful in the small things. Form integrity within me when no one is watching. Give me eyes to notice those around me, a heart that serves without seeking recognition, and a spirit that remains faithful in every responsibility You entrust to me. May my private character honor You as much as my public life. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com [https://wfpc.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Micro-corrections

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link. [https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church] https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church Scripture: Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. Consider: I used to have this old van with a alignment issue. If I let go of the steering wheel for even a second, the whole thing would immediately start drifting toward the ditch on the right. Driving it was exhausting because I was constantly having to make these little, micro-corrections to keep us on the road. I couldn’t just set the wheel and check out; I had to stay totally awake to the drift. Living out our faith and our values is a lot like driving that van. We all like to think we’re cruising down a perfectly straight line of flawless integrity. But the reality? Every single one of us experiences a “drift.” There is always going to be a gap between the ideals we say we uphold and the actions we actually take. We promise to be patient, and then we lose our temper in traffic. We value honesty, and then we stretch the truth to save face. Here is the liberating truth: The ultimate mark of integrity isn’t perfection. If integrity meant never messing up, the club would be completely empty. Real integrity is actually about how fast you make the correction. When you notice that gap between who you want to be and how you just acted, a fractured life tries to hide it. We make excuses, we blame the traffic, or we pretend the ditch is actually where we meant to park. But a person of true integrity just owns it. They make the micro-correction immediately: * They confess quickly. No rationalizing, no spinning the narrative. Just, “I messed up, and I’m sorry.” * They close the gap with honest action. They do the hard work to make things right with the people they hurt. * They lean into God’s restoring grace. They accept that they can’t fix themselves on their own power, and they let grace put them back on the road. Integrity isn’t about pretending you never drift; it’s about having the humility to admit when you do. God doesn’t expect us to be flawless drivers who never hit a bump. Instead, God wants us to stop hiding behind the steering wheel, admit when we’re off course, and trust the abundant grace we are given to pull us back to the center. Respond: When was the last time you noticed a "drift" in your own life, and what’s holding you back from making that quick correction today? Pray: Lord, free us from the belief that our worth is measured by what we accomplish. Teach us to stop believing that our importance and value are attached to how tired or overly busy we are. Help us create spaces where we and can rest. May our rhythms reflect the freedom You have given us, and may our lives bear witness to Your kingdom of grace rather than the demands of endless production. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com [https://wfpc.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

The Justice of Sabbath

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link. [https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church] https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church Scripture: Keep the Sabbath day and treat it as holy, exactly as the Lord your God commanded: Six days you may work and do all your tasks, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. Don’t do any work on it—not you, your sons or daughters, your male or female servants, your oxen or donkeys or any of your animals, or the immigrant who is living among you—so that your male and female servants can rest just like you. Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, but the Lord your God brought you out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. That’s why the Lord your God commands you to keep the Sabbath day. Consider: Brick making…that is how you were judged as productive or unproductive in ancient Egypt. How many bricks a worker made in a day. The more bricks made, the more valuable the worker seemed. We may not be dealing in brick quotas today, but isn’t that mentality surprisingly familiar? Modern culture (burn bright but burnout) often tells us that our worth is tied to our productivity, our schedules, our achievements, and our ability to keep producing without pause. There is always another task, another goal, another deadline or quota to meet. This command by God to rest is striking not only because it goes against the grain of the “productivity” model that seems to have always been in place, the command is striking because everyone is included: sons, daughters, servants, foreigners, and even animals. Rest is not reserved for the privileged; it is a gift for all. By commanding rest, God declares that people are more than what they produce. It levels the playing field with the reminder that all require, and deserve, rest…not just those who can afford it. Sabbath interrupts the cycle of endless labor and reminds us that our identity comes from belonging to God, not from meeting quotas. It is a weekly act of resistance against the fear that everything depends on our effort. So as we enter into summertime, a time of (presumed) more rest and less stress, let us try to hold time for true Sabbath and work to offer that gift to others (especially those not in the position to take rest) …this act of advocating for and taking Sabbath time reminds us that all deserve dignity, refreshment, and freedom, not just those with power or resources. May it be so. Respond: Think of 2 things you can let go of in the next week that will build more time in your life/schedule for Sabbath keeping. Are there “"busy” places in your world that don’t actually hold purpose or value to you anymore? How also might you offer Sabbath rest to someone else this week? Pray: Lord, free us from the belief that our worth is measured by what we accomplish. Teach us to stop believing that our importance and value are attached to how tired or overly busy we are. Help us create spaces where we and can rest. May our rhythms reflect the freedom You have given us, and may our lives bear witness to Your kingdom of grace rather than the demands of endless production. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com [https://wfpc.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Stripping away

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link. [https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church] https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church Scripture: Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Consider: The clock ticks, the inbox fills, and a quiet whisper echoes in the modern heart: You are what you accomplish. We live in a culture obsessed with the resume. From social media bios to networking events, we are constantly prompted to introduce ourselves by our titles, our productivity, and our accolades. It is a exhausting trap that conditions us to value others—and ourselves—solely by what can be measured on a spreadsheet or engraved on a trophy. But this performance-trap is not a modern invention. Two thousand years ago, the Apostle Paul ran this exact race, and he won it by every human standard. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul reflects on his own pedigree. If anyone had a right to boast in human achievements, it was him. He writes: “Circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.” Look at that resume. Paul had the perfect heritage, the elite education, the ultimate religious status, and unmatched drive. By the standards of his day, he was at the absolute top of the ladder. He was highly productive, fiercely committed, and universally respected in his circles. But then, Paul does something radical. He looks at this towering mountain of human accolades, and he reevaluates its worth. He continues: “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him...” The word Paul uses for “garbage” or “rubbish” in the original Greek is skubala—a gritty, shocking term that refers to street filth or refuse. Paul takes the very achievements that defined his worldly worth and declares them worthless when compared to his fundamental identity in Christ. Why? Because Paul realized that human accolades are a shifting sand. If your identity is built on your titles, who are you when the title is taken away? If your worth is tied to your productivity, what happens when you burn out, grow old, or fail? When we value people based on their achievements, we reduce the image-bearers of God to mere utility. We turn relationships into transactions. But Christ shatters this trap. Our fundamental identity is not earned; it is received. It is not built on our doing, but on what Christ has already done. In the eyes of God, your worth is locked in. You are loved, chosen, and redeemed—not because of your flawless performance, but because of God’s flawless grace. Let us step off the treadmill of human validation. Let us stop measuring the people around us by their productivity and start seeing them through the lens of the cross. Respond: Think about the people you interact with most often (colleagues, family, neighbors). Do you subconsciously value them based on how efficient, successful, or helpful they are to you, or do you view them fundamentally as image-bearers of God? Pray: Lord, We confess that our hearts are prone to wander into the trap of performance. We confess that we so easily tie our worth to our work, our identities to our titles, and our value to our productivity. Forgive us for the times we have looked at others through the lens of utility rather than the lens of grace. Thank You for the reminding example of the Apostle Paul. Today, we choose to step off the treadmill of striving. We lay down our resumes, our need to prove ourselves, and our hunger for human applause. Anchor our souls in the truth of who we are in You: loved, chosen, and redeemed. May Your unconditional grace free us to rest in our true identity and empower us to love others not for what they can do, but for who they are in Your sight. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com [https://wfpc.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Tipping Point

These posts will always be free, however, if you find them meaningful and would like to consider supporting our online outreach, you can donate using this link. [https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church] https://account.venmo.com/pay?recipients=WakeForestPresbyterian-Church Scripture: Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord;who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind; who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken. Consider: I don’t know how much attention you’ve paid to what I call “the tipping wars”. Ever since many establishments moved towards the touchless pay systems - you know the ones where you can tap your card or phone to pay - the tip screen has become ubiquitous. You’re being asked to tip everyone you encounter. My reaction is always to feel extreme guilt I’m about to commit a social sin by not tipping someone who I really should or “wasting money” tipping someone I really shouldn’t. Do I need to tip at the pick-up counter if all they did was hand me my food? Someone please help me! Now, I was a waitress for many years prior to seminary. My first job for pay was at the airport restaurant in Clarksburg, WV. I say the restaurant because the airport only ran to one and actually only offered three flights a day. One to Cincinnati, one to Pittsburgh, one to DC. I worked at this restaurant for mostly tips because the minimum wage for servers was $2.15 per hour. So I know how important tips can be for our lowest paid workers. That being said, the tipping economy has made every interaction in our life transactional. I’ll do this for you if you do this for me. It requires us to measure to the penny how much a person’s effort and labor are worth - and it is measured differently by each person. Let’s see, was today’s effort worth 10%? 18%? Some custom amount I make up in my head? It transactionalizes and quanitifizes relationship and human beings. This Psalm asks us to step away from the transcational relationship our cultures encourages towards a life where all people are treated the same AND our behavior is the same no matter the circumstance. This life of integrity takes away the burden of negotiating every interaction for its relative value because it gives us the freedom to be absolutely the same every single time. We live into its values by treating each other with respect and kindness despite how much value the person can offer us in return. We speak the same with the Senator as we do the sketchy guy on the corner by the traffic light. We give freely and generously with no strings attached. Imagine how freeing it would be if we could step away from the tipping machine? We can stop the quid pro quo stress and never worry about a social faux pas ever again. I already feel more relaxed. Respond: Think for a moment on a time when you stepped away from a transactional relationship into one of mutual respect? What would it look like to shift towards an attitude of integrity where your attitude towards other people isn’t affected by what they can do for you? Pray: Loving Lord, give me eyes to see beyond faults and failures (my own and others) and recognize Your image in those around me as well as in myself. Teach me to build true community through kindness, compassion, patience, and forgiveness. May my relationships reflect the love You have poured out on me. Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wfpc.substack.com [https://wfpc.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]