“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33, KJV)
Originally the “I” of the LinkS acrostic represented integration of faith and vocation.
But it also stands for integrity.
The letter “I” speaks of the kingdom of God and the necessity of Jesus’ reign in all matters of life.
Pinehurst #2 has been a site of historic golf events. None was much more spectacular than Payne Stewart’s one-stroke victory over Phil Mickelson in the 1999 U. S. Open.
Twenty-one years earlier an event took place on the fifth green at Pinehurst #2 during the Hall of Fame Golf Classic that will be forever etched in my mind. Playing with Hale Irwin and Howard Twitty, Tom Kite missed a short birdie putt. As he prepared to stroke his short putt into the hole the ball moved a fraction of an inch.
No one saw it move but Tom.
Immediately, he said to Hale, “The ball moved.”
Tom called a penalty on himself and lost the tournament by one shot.
Playing golf by its book of rules requires integrity. Unlike other sports, each golfer is his own umpire.
Following Jesus Christ and his Book of Life also requires integrity. The true follower of Jesus not only seeks him first, but also seeks his righteousness.
Which means integration: the right thing at the right time in the right place.
He must reign if his kingdom is to come and his will is to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
As golf requires self-officiating, so the true follower of Jesus must officiate himself on the course, at home and in his vocation.
We do this by prayer in little things or big things, calling on Jesus to reign and for his will to be accomplished wherever we may be. “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much,” Jesus said, “and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much” (Luke 16:10 NIV).
I need to stop, ponder: Am I demonstrating integrity in little things before my Audience of One?
—
Jim Hiskey
May 17, 2016
Copyright 2016 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.