which yields a better return…

let’s talk about integrity.  the past couple days I’ve had to finish up my 2006 tax return and I saw my potential refund begin dwindle as I began to calculate in my un-taxed income that I received from photography jobs and rental property.

you know, it would be so easy to ”forget” about the extra un-taxed income.  it was all ”under the table.”  …man it’d be nice to have those extra couple hundred $$$.  but it’s just not right…*ouch*  If Im prepared to lie on my tax return to get a larger refund, I better be prepared to give an account to a judge in a US court…but also I had better be prepared to give an account to Jesus in the courts of heaven.

we’re not always rewarded for our little (or big) moments of integrity.  most times we actually face immediate disadvantages for making ‘the right choice’  BUT it is choosing integrity NOW that will yield us a better reward in heaven.

At the end of the day, the greater tragedy is that it is sometimes so difficult for me to really believe this.  I’ve been challenged recently to think more and more about what it is I’m living for.  I want to have a Kingdom mentality, understanding that I’m not living for this side of heaven…but the next!  every moment, every decision counts in the courts of heaven…whether we are rewarded or penalized on this side of eternity or not.