Maintaining a life of integrity is no easy proposition. The enemy of our souls and our fallen flesh are constantly at work, persuading us to compromise. Maintaining our integrity requires proactivity on our part by adhering to spiritual disciplines designed to keep us safe.
John Wesley referred to these disciplines as “means of grace,” the channels through which God extends his mercy and favor for our benefit. The word “discipline” implies work is involved, but that is not to be confused with “works righteousness.” As Dallas Willard said, “Grace is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action.” Spiritual work is not an attempt to gain God’s favor but working in cooperation with God to continually conform to the image of Christ.
I want to examine the spiritual discipline of invitation, asking the Holy Spirit to remove our blinders and reveal to us the truth about ourselves. The clearest biblical example is found in Psalm 139:23-24:
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
The writer of the psalm, King David, understood he could not trust his own self-evaluation. In modern parlance, he was seeking to overcome the power of denial, an all-too-common contributing factor in the loss of integrity. We don’t want to believe our thoughts and behaviors are wrong, so we choose to ignore them. David knew the power of denial and self-justification and invited God to do what he could not do for himself.
The problem of denial has been with us from the very beginning. When Adam and Eve were caught in their sin, they both opted to hide and blame someone else for their failure rather than own it. Our egos are so fragile, and our desire to be accepted so strong that we will do just about anything to avoid culpability, including denying there was a problem in the first place. When it comes to dealing with this problem, it seems to me there are two options:
Suffer consequences so painful that the problem can no longer be ignored.
Proactively invite God to reveal our blindness before it becomes an issue.
I imagine things would have turned out quite differently if Adam and Eve had chosen the second option. It is noteworthy that God did not intervene during their temptation, and he probably won’t intervene in ours unless he is invited.
So, how do we practice the discipline of invitation? It begins with a humble heart and the realization that we desperately need God to work on our behalf. Paul alludes to this accurate need for self-understanding in Romans 12:3 – “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”
I think one of the reasons God waits for an invitation is to help us understand how much we need him. We find strength that is unavailable to us in our pride. “God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble.” – 1 Peter 5:5b
During my college years, an individual tried to impress upon me the importance of humbly inviting God to show me the truth about myself. Unfortunately, I was too immature and too proud to receive it. With more than a little shame, I recall saying to this person, “Maybe some of these other people need a good dose of that, but I’m fine. I know who I am.”
Looking back, it boggles my mind that I was so foolish, but such is the power of pride and denial. It wasn’t until I had hurt others deeply and destroyed some friendships that I was able to see the wisdom of inviting God to search for me.
In addition to a humble heart, the discipline of invitation requires focused attention. To do it properly, we need to set time aside for that purpose. Think of it this way: we wouldn’t dream of casually inviting someone on the fly to our wedding. Such an approach not only diminishes the significance of the event but also sends a message to the invitees of their relative unimportance. That’s why we send out printed invitations to specific people – because it is a significant day, and the people we invite really matter to us. In a similar manner, we can’t invite God on the fly to do some serious work in our souls. He is worthy of our careful attention, and our need for what only he can do is so great that we simply must set aside time for that specific purpose.
Integrity matters – not only regarding matters of reputation, but the impact a loss of integrity makes in the Kingdom and in the lives of unbelievers. Like ripples in a pond, losing our integrity goes far beyond our immediate situation. The regular practice of the discipline of invitation is a means of grace God provides for us to keep in step with him.
The results are in, and we have so many amazing ways to share with you how God has used the entire ILI Global family including all the leaders and alumni to make an impact on the spread of the Gospel in 2022.