BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

"Did this man o er you a job with his new company doing the same thing that you are doing now?" the lawyer asked. My dad did not hesitate for a second. "Yes, he did." I was amazed, but I was so proud. He just threw away all that money. He just turned down position, prestige, power⎯because he was honorable. Later I asked him, "Dad, how did you keep from saying what that man wanted you to say?" "It would have been a lie," he answered. It was that simple. There had never been any question in his mind. His mind had been made up long before that situation had ever come into being. Why? Because he had already made a commitment⎯a commitment to be honorable. He had chosen to walk in the honor that comes from God only. But Dad's honor didn't stop there, either. No sir. Every time he saw that man from that day forward, he would walk up to him, shake his hand and ask how the new company was coming along. That man respected my dad for the rest of his life. That new company, by the way, became a very large and powerful life insurance company. Choosing God's Honor The world today often looks at the Body of Christ with a raised brow. They've not seen honor. They've seen too much dishonor. But you can help change that. You can guard your manner of life, your conversation. You can be honorable. You can receive it from God. The examples from the lives of my parents taught me a valuable lesson. I realized that honor is not hard to recognize. At times it may be hard to fi nd, but it is easily recognized. In fact, honor stands out in the crowd because it appears foolish in the system of the world. To be honorable requires an act of the will, an act which triggers and releases all that God has provided for us. It requires a choice between God's WORD and the subtleties and deceptions of the world. It requires a choice between the spirit and the fl esh. It boils down to a choice between standing and falling. If you are honorable, you will stand. If you are dishonorable, you are guaranteed to fall⎯and bring even more dishonor to the Body of Christ. I get so embarrassed at what people try to do as believers, walking in dishonor. We are never to use our positions as preachers of the gospel or children of God to defraud anyone. One time when I was shopping at a convenience store, a preacher came in to purchase some shotgun shells. He began trying to talk the clerk into giving him a discount on his shells because he was a minister. It embarrassed me so. It made me so mad that he would do that to our God. It almost made me want to cuss so that clerk wouldn't think I was a preacher, too. The clerk didn't have any authority to give the man a discount, even if he had wanted to! The young man got really irritated at that preacher. I wonder if that preacher has any idea how much damage his preoccupation with a petty discount might have caused in that young clerk's life. Your Word of Honor "Brother Copeland," you may say, "I see the value of honor and I want to walk in it. But where do I begin? How can I 'fi nd' this honor that comes from God only?" Start with God and His WORD. He can make you honorable. He has already honored you with His own life. He has honored you with what the Bible calls eternal life, the very life of God Himself. He administers this life We're currently hiring for a variety of roles. Visit kcm.org /careers Come Change the World with Us! The world today often looks at the Body of Christ with a raised brow. They've not seen honor. They've seen too much dishonor. But you can help change that. 8 : B V O V

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