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The new buzz word is Ethics. For over a year now I’ve heard that word casually tossed around, often from people who could use a dictionary for Christmas. Today I heard it again from an angry man who was fired for the lack of it and he’s going out to start a new ministry with the word “Integrity” in it. Seriously, he is. Some people just don’t get it. Ethics are your character. It is who you are and how you do life, business, family, or whatever without much thought to defining it, it’s just your DNA. When I began as pastor of our church we only had 32 people that first day. One of the decisions I made then and have kept to this day is that I would not try to grow a church by going after members of other churches. That wasn’t a hard decision, it was easy. What I didn’t see at that time was that I was in a culture that was totally contrary to that mindset. That value was foreign to those around me. Yet it was my value. If after 26 years we still had 32 people, I would still hold to it. Fortunately God has blessed us with 26 years in a row of consistent growth, so it has some rewards, but regardless of the outcome, the decision is unchanged. You see, ethics are values deep within you. When we raised our children we discussed ethics that I felt mattered. Like (1) Always pay your debts on time (2) Never take Communion (The Lords Supper) with unresolved issues,sin, or unforgiveness toward another. (3) Never speak disrespectfully about one in authority (4) Be thankful for all God has given you and always rejoice in the blessings of others. There is something about building your life on those things that frees you to live a life of blessings. My hope is that you will experience the inner peace and the life of fulfillment that follows good “ethical” choices. We have only one life to live and I know you want to extract the most from it.