The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him. Proverbs 20:7

Perfection is not required. Mistakes make the journey real. But an honest heart to do it right, causes even the stickiest of steps to work out in the long run.

I didn’t set out to make excuses for being late. Nor did I want to be known as argumentative and touchy when things didn’t go my way. That’s the truth. But the fact that I was just that kind of individual once upon a time is also very true.

But one day, the help I needed to “become the me I wanted to be” showed up. It came in the form of a stern word of criticism from a respectable, established man.

“You are often late. I don’t like that about you.” I quickly knee-jerked and responded with, you guessed it, a very reasonable excuse. “Son, turn around and read that sign on the back of the door.”  It read:

EXCUSES
Tools of incompetence
that lead to monuments
of nothingness
Those good at excuses
are seldom good
at anything else

I was embarrassed, quite perturbed and shocked. But my deep desire to not be late, full of “excuses” and ill-tempered moved me to accept the correction.

That was one of the highlights of my character-carving days. And now, my children benefit from the integrity of innocent ignorance on a daily basis. Their daddy is not perfect. They know, however, when he misses it, he wants to know and he longs to make it right.

Don’t hide behind the pride of “how dare you talk to me that way” or “that’s none of your business.” If there is any validity to the claim, let it make you a “better you.”

Otherwise, bitterness will set in and one day you will look around and space is all you’ll have to keep you company!

God-loyal people, living honest lives, make it much easier for their children. Proverbs 20:7 MSG