No Shortcuts to Being Faithful

"He makes them listen to correction and commands them to repent of their evil." Job 36:10

Last spring, my husband and I had our income tax returns done. I was extremely busy with all of the usual activities of life at the time, and hurriedly ran and about pulling open drawers, looking for records and receipts, all about an hour before I was supposed to have the information gathered together. I guesstimated how much we had donated for charities and how much we had (spent) for medical expenses. Maurie, our good-natured accountant, made a few jokes about my haphazard record keeping. I began to feel uncomfortable, but silently reasoned that I had done all I was able to under the circumstances.

The next morning, as I left the house for my bible study, I murmured a quick prayer, "Lord, I feel uneasy about yesterday. If you want me to go back through all my records and do it right, I will. Just let me know."

On the way to the bible study, the woman who was driving began to talk about being a Christian and being obedient to the Lord even in small things. She spoke about how her mother laughs at her for returning change at the market when she has received too much. And then she said her mother laughs at her for being so scrupulously honest on her income tax!

I squirmed in my seat, my face flushing red. I knew what I had to do. Although it was slightly embarrassing to call our accountant back with the correct figures, I felt better once I had. And I felt a whole lot better knowing that I had been obedient to the Lord's voice.

By Nicole Hill, taken from "Women's Devotional Bible 2"