One of the hardest things about personal integrity to realize is that we cannot do this on our own. We have to have a support system in place to help us make this journey.
That can be your family, but often it needs to be someone outside of your closest circle of relationships. You need a friend or two that will be there to help you out when needed.
In the Old Testament, Moses leads the nation of Israel out of Egypt and on to the Promised Land. But on the way, they come across the nation of the Amalekites. And they are attacked.
Moses sends Joshua out with some men to fight, while he watches from the top of a nearby hill. As Joshua fought, if Moses’ hands were lifted, the Israelites were winning. But as Moses’ hands grew tired and they dropped, the Israelites began to lose.
Aaron and Hur placed Moses on a stone, seated. And they held up his hands for him.
This is an incredible example of friends and partners in ministry standing in prayer together, holding one another up and giving the needed support to help them succeed.
As dads, you and I need such friends. Friends who will come along and support us when we need it.
Just the other day, this happened in my own life. I was having a tough time with a situation with one of our sons, and was having a difficult time keeping my temper in check. A friend came along side me, and corrected me, because I needed it, but continued to help me process through the situation and walked with me through the entire thing.
That helped immensely.
We cannot build our integrity alone. We have to have a network of people who will walk with us and help us, and who we can walk with and help.
This dadhood thing is too important to neglect such a critical aspect to our won integrity.
This idea is not necessarily the same thing as personal accountability, although it is related. We will examine that in a future article. For now, make sure you have the friends around you to help when you need it.
Your family depends on it.
Be deliberate, Dad!
Do you have a network of friends that come alongside of you and help you? You can leave your thoughts in the comments by clicking here.