“The righteous who walks in his integrity, blessed are his children after him.”
– Proverbs 20:7
What a picture of how our walking in integrity doesn’t just affect us. So this obviously specifically talking about a parent, here. A father, blessed are his children after him. So a father who walks in integrity will bring blessing upon his kids who walk after him.
I think about that as a dad, whether or not I am walking in integrity will have an effect on my kids. So it doesn’t affect my life, my relationship with God. My walking in integrity has an effect on my kids and their relationship with God. Their relationship with me, obviously, as well. So this is just a good reminder. And we see this all over Scripture, but as we walk with God … So this isn’t just pertaining to dads and their kids, or even moms and their kids, but all of us. Our walk with God has an effect on the people around us, particularly the people who are influenced by us.
This Verse Gives Us a Picture of Healthy Leadership
Our walk with God has an effect on the people around us.
This is a picture of leadership where we see in Scripture when a leader is walking with God, it has a fruitful effect on followers. When a leader is not walking with God, it has a disastrous effect on followers. So that’s what this proverb is talking about in the family. And it pertains to so many different spheres. So we need to realize today that the people we influence in our lives are affected by whether or not we are walking in integrity before God. So we need to realize our relationship with God, our integrity before God, doesn’t just affect us. It has a huge effect on people around us.
Proverbs 20:7 Drives Us to Pray
So we’re driven to pray, God, help us, then, to walk in integrity. Help us to be righteous. Help us to walk in paths of righteousness today, and we trust that when we do that will bring blessing to people around us. We pray as parents, for those of us who are parents, help us to walk in integrity today, we pray.
For fathers, for mothers, help us to walk in integrity in a way that brings blessing to our kids. And for all of us as we think about people who we influence, for leaders who have people following after them, God, keep us close to you, we pray. I think about the people who are affected by my leadership, and others’ leadership who are listening to this, I’m praying this, God, we want them to be blessed. We want them to experience your blessing, and we know that part of that will be influenced by the integrity we walk in or don’t walk in. So, God, help us to walk in integrity. Help me, help us, to walk in integrity, to be righteous, and in the process to be a channel of your blessing to the people who are around us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
