I Pray You Miss Heaven
It started with a simple decorative project—a friend and I had a vision, a plan, and just needed the right materials to bring it to life. We found someone who had exactly what we needed, though only a small quantity. He assured us there was more, stored elsewhere, and promised to move it to a location accessible by car. He’d call us once it was ready.
He never did.
Days passed. Silence. So we reached out. What followed wasn’t an explanation—it was a saga. His stories spanned continents and centuries, weaving through archaeology, zoology, and every imaginable detour. We listened, half amused, half bewildered. But we gave him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe life had thrown him off course. Maybe he meant well.
We made a new arrangement.
He disappointed us again. Spectacularly.
It wasn’t just the broken promise. It was the casual disregard, the ease with which he let integrity slip through his fingers. It stung—not because of the materials, but because of the principle. He simply didn’t know what it meant to stand by your word.
Just days before this, another friend had asked me for a favour. She wanted a medical report—one that didn’t reflect the truth. I hesitated, told her it would be difficult. She scoffed. “You are being difficult, Pope” she said. “No one will find out.That’s the order of the day. Everyone does it.”
I looked her in the eye and said, “But I’m someone, and I’m not doing it.”
She grew furious. Not just annoyed—furious. “I pray,” she spat, “that with all your righteous acts and refusal to enjoy the loots of this world, you’ll miss heaven and lose twice.”
That sentence echoed in my mind for days. I sat with it. Turned it over. Was she right? Was integrity a fool’s errand in a world that rewards shortcuts and punishes conscience?
Reflectintrospection
Hmmm, should one be angry with the man who failed us—or he should be pitied as a product of a system that teaches people that honesty is for losers?
There is a quiet grief that comes with watching people trade truth for convenience and take the easy way out instead of investing to get the best outcome. It’s not just disappointment—it’s mourning. Mourning the erosion of something sacred.
Integrity isn’t about outcomes. It’s not about heaven or hell, gain or loss. It’s about choosing who you are, even when the world tells you it’s not worth it.
So, what compass guides our path? Is integrity the main pointer? For how long can you stand for our values?
Even though I have failed to hold my integrity a lot of times, just to fit in..and I know I can still fail sometimes… I am determined not to make a life without integrity a normalcy and work at winning one day at a time; in being different and standing for what my faith demands.
What are your lived experiences? What value will you not trade for anything?
Serenity Prayer
Dear Lord,
Grant us the serenity to stay true when others falter,
The courage to uphold integrity when it’s mocked,
And the wisdom to forgive without losing ourselves. Amen
