Something I respected greatly about Billy Graham and his ministry …

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My social media feeds today are overflowing with posts about the passing from this life to the next of world-renowned evangelist, Billy Graham.

Among those posts include some of the people who met the preacher or knew him personally. Because I never met the man, I can’t speak personally about his life; but having observed his ministry from afar for a few decades, there’s one thing in particular that I always respected about Mr. Graham and his ministry – his integrity.

For about 80 years of ministry, there was never a hint of impropriety in the life or ministry of Billy Graham. That isn’t to say he was perfect; like the rest of us, he was a flawed human being. Not everyone agreed completely with his theology or his methods, but even so, he maintained his integrity as a man and a minister for nearly a century!

Graham’s example of integrity in his life and his work is something that is not easy to come by in our world. Take, for example, this AP story published in 2014 that is thick with irony. Two community organizers “with a local Stop the Violence group” were arrested and jailed in Washington, Pennsylvania for, according to Fox News, “severely beating a former roommate with whom they had a property dispute.”

They “allegedly jumped the man as he was walking down the street on Tuesday.” Police report the defendants kicked the victim repeatedly while he was unconscious, causing serious injuries. The female defendant “was still wearing the same ‘Stop the Violence’ T-shirt that she had on the night before when she led a march in the city protesting two recent shootings.” The victim remains in critical condition.

Whatever form it takes, the Bible warns against the hypocrisy of preaching one thing while living something else, saying:

Beware of it – “Meanwhile, the crowds grew until thousands were milling about and stepping on each other. Jesus turned first to his disciples and warned them, ‘Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees — their hypocrisy,'” Luke 12:1.

Let love be without it – “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good,” Romans 12:9 (NASB).

Don’t be led astray by it – “As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy,” Galatians 2:13.

Wisdom from God is without it – “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy,” James 3:17 (NASB).

Get rid of it – “So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech,” 1 Peter 2:1.

In spite of biblical instructions to purge ourselves of hypocrisy, many of us won’t have as sterling memorials as the integrity of Billy Graham. Some of us will likely have stories of our lives like that of the strange case of Mr. Black who required two obituaries, as reported by Brian Hickey with PhillyVoice:

    In the first obit, his “loving wife, Bearetta Harrison Black” gets top survivor billing. In the second, however, Bearetta is nowhere to be found, but “his long-tome (sic) girlfriend, Princess Hall” appears in her place.

    A man answering the phone at Greenidge Funeral Homes told PhillyVoice that the obituaries were placed separately because “the wife wanted it one way, and the girlfriend wanted it another way.” But he did not anticipate any problems because everybody knew it was happening.

Today, I’ve found myself surprised at the depth of emotion and contemplation the passing of Billy Graham has stirred in me. But I’m very grateful for the profound example of integrity (among other things) he has set for all of us. May we all strive to live to such a standard and, like Billy, leave the same example in our lives and our work.

Scotty