Dr. Rick Mandl - August 11, 2020
Avoiding A Titanic Mistake
How To Avoid A Titanic Mistake
Tuesday August 11, 2020
Hey church family. In Psalm 86 there is a prayer of David, and I want to challenge you to make part of his prayer your prayer. Psalm 86:11 says, “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” What does it mean to have an undivided heart? It means to live with integrity.
If you are serious about becoming a person of integrity, the first step is to admit that you haven’t had integrity. It’s to admit that you don’t always keep your promises. It’s to admit that sometimes you gossip. It’s to admit that sometimes you slack off at work. It’s to admit that sometimes you pretend to be someone you’re not. The starting point on the road to integrity is just to admit to God that you haven’t had integrity.
Too often we make the mistake of thinking that we can segment our lives, and that it’s possible to live with integrity, and harbor sin in one area of life and that it doesn’t affect the other area. Pastor Rick Warren calls this “The Titanic myth.” When the Titanic set sail in 1912, it was declared to be ‘unsinkable’ because it was constructed using a new technology. The ship’s hull was divided into sixteen watertight compartments. Up to four of these compartments could be damaged or even flooded, and still the ship would float.
Tragically, the Titanic sank on 15 April 1912 at 2.20 am. 1,513 people lost their lives. At the time, it was thought that five of its watertight compartments must have been ruptured in a collision with an iceberg. However, on 1 September 1985, when the wreck of the Titanic was found lying upright on the ocean floor, there was no sign of that long gash previously thought to have been ripped in the ship’s hull. What they discovered, much to their surprise was that damage to one compartment affected all the rest.
Many people make the Titanic mistake. They think they can divide their lives into different ‘compartments’ and that what they do in one will not affect the rest. But the truth is that, when it comes to your life, a hole in the boat is a hole in the boat, and eventually it’s going to sink you. That little area you thought you had under control will eventually take you down. And it will affect the people around you, because while sin is personal, it is never private.
No one is perfect, and God doesn’t expect you to be perfect! He does, however, expect you to have integrity, and the starting point is to own up to your sins — no matter how long your list is. God is more interested in your heart than your sins. You’re never going to be perfect. You’re never going to be sinless. But you can sin less. And it begins with the choice to pursue integrity. So let me challenge you to make David’s prayer your prayer, and ask God to give you an undivided heart.
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