Day 4 - Aug 8

Integrity and Skill

And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.

Psalm 78:72 NIV

What do you expect from your pastor? It seems to me that people anticipate that their spiritual leaders are followers of God, committed to living a life pleasing to Him, have a heart for people, are good leaders, and know how to communicate the truths of the Word.  Pastors are shepherds of people, called by God to care for His “sheep.”  The first “shepherd” was David--the Goliath killer, the warrior, and the worshipper.  He was called by God to care for the children of Israel.  

Today’s verse highlights David’s strengths as the leader of God’s people, and he did so with integrity and skill.  

Integrity means wholeness, complete, and without lack.  The root word for integrity is “integer.”  You may remember that word from school as the description of whole numbers, not fractions.  Integrity then could be defined as that which is whole and without fractures. 

Skill is also critical to leading people.  There are lots of good people, but not everybody has the gifts and talents necessary to convey God’s love and revelation.  Most skills can be learned, but gifting without integrity is a recipe for breakdowns.  There are far too many stories of people with amazing leadership abilities who lose their way because of a weakness in character.  We could describe this as a fraction of integrity, not complete integrity. 

Every job requires skill, but integrity is what will cause one to be fruitful.  

Integrity you get from following God, skill you can get in a classroom, through a mentor, or even self-learning.  But one without the other will leave you ineffective.