WEBVTT 00:00.098 --> 00:00.559 [UNKNOWN]: Thank you. 00:35.823 --> 00:39.908 [SPEAKER_00]: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Power Being Relentless Ethics Podcast. 00:40.469 --> 00:48.620 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm Michael Hanks, and today we're going to be talking about excellence rooted in ethics, okay? 00:48.640 --> 00:52.826 [SPEAKER_00]: We're going to be talking about a kind of relentless today that often gets ignored. 00:54.448 --> 00:59.795 [SPEAKER_00]: Not the loud, kind, not the kind that pushes people aside, breakthroughs, or chasing success at any calls. 00:59.835 --> 01:01.257 [SPEAKER_00]: We're talking about a better 01:01.608 --> 01:06.513 [SPEAKER_00]: kind of relentlessness, a grounded gun, a discipline kind and a holy kind. 01:07.674 --> 01:12.860 [SPEAKER_00]: This is the kind of relentlessness that stays true when compromise looks easy. 01:13.521 --> 01:19.127 [SPEAKER_00]: The kind that chooses excellence, not for applause, but for it, because integrity matters. 01:21.249 --> 01:26.715 [SPEAKER_00]: The kind that keeps showing up with honesty, restraint, courage, and consistency, even when nobody's watching. 01:27.656 --> 01:29.978 [SPEAKER_00]: Our focus today is simple. 01:30.346 --> 01:41.518 [SPEAKER_00]: deep ethical excellence creates sustainable success and self-discipline is one of those key folk forces that helps us maintain high standards over time. 01:41.538 --> 01:53.411 [SPEAKER_00]: We'll explore what that means in work leadership, calling, reputation, relationships, and spiritual life will also draw from scripture across the different bibles. 01:53.451 --> 01:57.636 [SPEAKER_00]: We're going to be looking at some scriptures in the 01:57.852 --> 02:01.155 [SPEAKER_00]: the Catholic Bible and also the Ethiopian Bible, okay? 02:02.817 --> 02:12.147 [SPEAKER_00]: Because these passage give us that a rich and powerful picture of what it means to live with integrity, to pursue wisdom and remain steadfast and righteous action. 02:16.492 --> 02:21.497 [SPEAKER_00]: The word relentlessness can make people uneasy for some it sounds harsh. 02:21.832 --> 02:22.993 [SPEAKER_00]: It sounds like obsession. 02:23.634 --> 02:24.595 [SPEAKER_00]: It sounds like burnout. 02:25.075 --> 02:28.139 [SPEAKER_00]: It sounds like chasing outcomes with no room for mercy or balance. 02:29.740 --> 02:32.323 [SPEAKER_00]: But that's not the kind of relentlessness we're talking about. 02:32.824 --> 02:35.266 [SPEAKER_00]: True relentlessness is not reckless intensity. 02:36.127 --> 02:37.348 [SPEAKER_00]: It is a steady conviction. 02:38.229 --> 02:40.291 [SPEAKER_00]: It is a refusal to surrender what is right. 02:41.373 --> 02:44.336 [SPEAKER_00]: It is the decision to hold your line when pressurizes. 02:45.637 --> 02:48.480 [SPEAKER_00]: It is staying faithful to your values and private and public. 02:50.975 --> 02:58.545 [SPEAKER_00]: It is waking up and saying, again and again, I will do this the right way, even if it takes longer. 02:59.346 --> 03:01.469 [SPEAKER_00]: I will not trade my soul for speed. 03:01.569 --> 03:04.172 [SPEAKER_00]: I will not trade integrity for influence. 03:05.054 --> 03:07.557 [SPEAKER_00]: I will not trade ethics for advantage. 03:07.577 --> 03:08.498 [SPEAKER_00]: That is relentless. 03:09.299 --> 03:17.590 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's look at Galatians 69 and let us not be weary and well-doing for induced season, we shall reap if we thank not. 03:18.295 --> 03:21.059 [SPEAKER_00]: that verse gives us a picture of ethical perseverance. 03:21.900 --> 03:23.622 [SPEAKER_00]: Well, doing is not random effort. 03:23.642 --> 03:25.545 [SPEAKER_00]: It's a righteous effort. 03:25.565 --> 03:28.469 [SPEAKER_00]: It's doing good work in the right spirit for the right reasons. 03:29.410 --> 03:31.212 [SPEAKER_00]: And we are told not to grow weary in it. 03:31.733 --> 03:31.973 [SPEAKER_00]: Why? 03:32.134 --> 03:34.196 [SPEAKER_00]: Because the harvest coast of those who do not faint. 03:36.019 --> 03:37.381 [SPEAKER_00]: That means there may be delay. 03:37.941 --> 03:38.883 [SPEAKER_00]: There may be testing. 03:38.923 --> 03:41.426 [SPEAKER_00]: There may be moments when cutting quarters seems faster. 03:42.147 --> 03:44.190 [SPEAKER_00]: But the promise is not attached to shortcuts. 03:44.270 --> 03:46.513 [SPEAKER_00]: The promise is attached to faithful endurance. 03:47.388 --> 03:50.114 [SPEAKER_00]: Relentlessness, then, is not just intensity. 03:50.454 --> 03:51.777 [SPEAKER_00]: It's endurance and doing good. 03:52.679 --> 03:58.451 [SPEAKER_00]: And this matters because many people can be relentless in ambition, but not relentless integrity. 03:58.892 --> 04:01.297 [SPEAKER_00]: Many can chase goals, but not guard their character. 04:01.577 --> 04:04.283 [SPEAKER_00]: Many can build fast, but few build claim. 04:05.022 --> 04:09.907 [SPEAKER_00]: ethical relentlessness says, I will build clean, not perfect in human sense. 04:10.308 --> 04:11.369 [SPEAKER_00]: We all need grace. 04:11.529 --> 04:12.310 [SPEAKER_00]: We all grow. 04:12.731 --> 04:13.992 [SPEAKER_00]: We all repent and learn. 04:14.272 --> 04:17.155 [SPEAKER_00]: But ethical relentlessness means we stay submitted to truth. 04:17.256 --> 04:18.577 [SPEAKER_00]: We stay teachable. 04:18.957 --> 04:19.879 [SPEAKER_00]: We stay accountable. 04:20.039 --> 04:23.302 [SPEAKER_00]: We stay committed to the standard even when our feeling shift. 04:23.322 --> 04:33.814 [SPEAKER_00]: That kind of life is rare, but it is powerful. 04:34.520 --> 04:37.564 [SPEAKER_00]: is that ethics slows success down too much. 04:39.626 --> 04:41.228 [SPEAKER_00]: This message comes in different forms. 04:43.030 --> 04:44.792 [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to win, you have to play the game. 04:45.313 --> 04:46.454 [SPEAKER_00]: Everybody bends the rules. 04:47.235 --> 04:49.258 [SPEAKER_00]: If you tell the whole truth, you'll lose leverage. 04:49.338 --> 04:51.560 [SPEAKER_00]: If you don't take the shortcut, someone else will. 04:52.001 --> 04:56.747 [SPEAKER_00]: That thinking is common, but it's dangerous. 04:56.767 --> 05:01.152 [SPEAKER_00]: Because on ethical success, maybe visible, but it is rarely stable. 05:02.313 --> 05:11.327 [SPEAKER_00]: It may rise quickly, but it often carries hidden right, trust a road, spirit increases, term's weak and stress grows, reputation becomes fragile. 05:11.908 --> 05:15.133 [SPEAKER_00]: People began protecting appearances instead of pursuing truth. 05:16.355 --> 05:20.382 [SPEAKER_00]: And sooner or later, what was built on compromise starts to crack. 05:21.443 --> 05:23.747 [SPEAKER_00]: Ethics is not the enemy of success. 05:24.503 --> 05:27.267 [SPEAKER_00]: ethics is the foundation of sustainable success. 05:27.808 --> 05:34.658 [SPEAKER_00]: Proverbs 10, 9 says, whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out. 05:35.078 --> 05:39.785 [SPEAKER_00]: That versus plain and sharp integrity creates security, crookedness creates exposure. 05:40.306 --> 05:41.448 [SPEAKER_00]: Notice the contrast. 05:41.828 --> 05:49.920 [SPEAKER_00]: The one who walks in integrity walks securely, not necessarily quickly, not necessarily with consistent public praise, but securely. 05:51.470 --> 05:53.112 [SPEAKER_00]: that security matters. 05:53.192 --> 05:55.095 [SPEAKER_00]: It means your decision can stand scrutiny. 05:55.676 --> 05:58.439 [SPEAKER_00]: It means you do not have to spend your energy managing deception. 05:58.580 --> 06:00.923 [SPEAKER_00]: It means your leadership does not depend on hiding. 06:01.504 --> 06:04.448 [SPEAKER_00]: It means your name carries weight because your life has substance. 06:06.370 --> 06:08.293 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's look at Sarash 112. 06:09.114 --> 06:13.320 [SPEAKER_00]: The fear of the Lord glides the heart, giving joy and gladness in long life. 06:15.322 --> 06:20.329 [SPEAKER_00]: And Sarash 120 adds to fear of the Lord is the fullness of wisdom. 06:21.575 --> 06:23.718 [SPEAKER_00]: She enliberates mortals with her fruits. 06:26.922 --> 06:31.188 [SPEAKER_00]: This wisdom tradition matters because ethics is not merely rule following. 06:31.308 --> 06:34.652 [SPEAKER_00]: Ethics begins with rightly order, reverence. 06:37.797 --> 06:42.202 [SPEAKER_00]: When we fear the Lord, we learn proportion. 06:42.523 --> 06:46.248 [SPEAKER_00]: We stop acting as if immediate gain is the highest good. 06:46.608 --> 06:50.974 [SPEAKER_00]: We remember that our lives are accountable before God. 06:51.342 --> 06:53.665 [SPEAKER_00]: Reorders our motives and clarifies our choices. 06:56.128 --> 06:58.210 [SPEAKER_00]: Imagine this, I don't have seen this a lot in business. 06:58.270 --> 06:59.491 [SPEAKER_00]: Just, I'm gonna add this in here. 06:59.531 --> 07:08.081 [SPEAKER_00]: So, when I was at 10 pages asking so many, I've seen so many, you know, plant managers, CEOs, supervisors, all these different people, right? 07:08.702 --> 07:11.165 [SPEAKER_00]: Cutting corners, not being honest with people. 07:13.267 --> 07:14.349 [SPEAKER_00]: But here's the thing, guys. 07:14.489 --> 07:15.270 [SPEAKER_00]: You're gonna fail. 07:15.690 --> 07:17.012 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it's gonna catch up to you. 07:17.032 --> 07:17.993 [SPEAKER_00]: People aren't dumb. 07:18.193 --> 07:19.915 [SPEAKER_00]: They're gonna catch up when you're lying to them. 07:20.924 --> 07:24.767 [SPEAKER_00]: And then they're going to cut the business and they're going to keep on and you know what's going to happen. 07:24.847 --> 07:30.553 [SPEAKER_00]: Somebody's going to look in one day and say, Hey, why is all of our different clients leaving? 07:30.693 --> 07:31.393 [SPEAKER_00]: What's going on? 07:32.254 --> 07:38.540 [SPEAKER_00]: And then they're going to find out they're going to they're going to try to talk out and get reviews and you know what a lot of them won't. 07:38.560 --> 07:39.160 [SPEAKER_00]: You know, I don't know. 07:39.240 --> 07:45.366 [SPEAKER_00]: I can't remember the the latest statistics, but it was like seven out of ten people when they they won't leave a review. 07:45.386 --> 07:46.246 [SPEAKER_00]: They just won't show up. 07:46.286 --> 07:50.290 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if that's higher now because of more social media or not. 07:50.877 --> 07:52.118 [SPEAKER_00]: But they're going to reach out and get reviews. 07:52.138 --> 07:54.661 [SPEAKER_00]: They're going to find out what happened. 07:54.681 --> 07:56.703 [SPEAKER_00]: So now you're cutting corners. 07:56.963 --> 07:57.844 [SPEAKER_00]: You're fixing to get bus. 07:57.864 --> 07:59.326 [SPEAKER_00]: Did you probably going to lose your job? 07:59.366 --> 08:00.647 [SPEAKER_00]: You're costing the company money. 08:01.188 --> 08:01.809 [SPEAKER_00]: And you know what? 08:02.609 --> 08:04.131 [SPEAKER_00]: Bigger than that, you know what you got to do? 08:04.732 --> 08:07.595 [SPEAKER_00]: You got to stand before God for what you did. 08:08.516 --> 08:09.577 [SPEAKER_00]: So see, it's not worth it. 08:11.219 --> 08:11.859 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not worth it. 08:11.879 --> 08:13.121 [SPEAKER_00]: Now don't get me wrong. 08:13.621 --> 08:14.842 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not saying we're all perfect. 08:14.882 --> 08:15.884 [SPEAKER_00]: We do have our struggles. 08:15.944 --> 08:20.108 [SPEAKER_00]: And yes, say, you know what? 08:21.995 --> 08:23.577 [SPEAKER_00]: And we have to be strong. 08:23.637 --> 08:28.402 [SPEAKER_00]: We need, as Christians, we have to stand together to be able to operate together. 08:29.343 --> 08:32.366 [SPEAKER_00]: Because the Bible is a very, it very house standards. 08:33.147 --> 08:34.989 [SPEAKER_00]: And they are very hard standards to follow. 08:37.291 --> 08:39.894 [SPEAKER_00]: And we're not meant to do this life alone. 08:39.934 --> 08:45.660 [SPEAKER_00]: We have to have people to help encourage and push us to stay focused, to stay within those standards, to stay close to the Lord. 08:47.402 --> 08:47.682 [SPEAKER_00]: All right. 08:52.370 --> 08:57.597 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, the person rooted in wisdom does not only ask cannot do this, they ask, should I do this? 08:58.078 --> 08:59.279 [SPEAKER_00]: Does this honor God? 08:59.400 --> 09:00.641 [SPEAKER_00]: Does this protect people? 09:00.721 --> 09:01.783 [SPEAKER_00]: Does this build trust? 09:01.803 --> 09:03.065 [SPEAKER_00]: Does this align with truth? 09:03.866 --> 09:06.329 [SPEAKER_00]: Sustainable success grows from these questions. 09:06.369 --> 09:11.076 [SPEAKER_00]: Success that outlast emotion, Trees and pressures not built by talent alone. 09:11.096 --> 09:20.048 [SPEAKER_00]: It is built by talent under moral restraint, by courage under conviction, by excellence under authority. 09:20.332 --> 09:22.455 [SPEAKER_00]: That is why Ethics is not a barrier. 09:22.495 --> 09:23.556 [SPEAKER_00]: It's a stabilizer. 09:25.098 --> 09:26.079 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's define our terms. 09:26.239 --> 09:26.619 [SPEAKER_00]: Excellent. 09:27.360 --> 09:28.822 [SPEAKER_00]: Is doing more of the work well. 09:32.907 --> 09:36.251 [SPEAKER_00]: Ethics is living and acting according to what is morally right. 09:36.311 --> 09:40.836 [SPEAKER_00]: So Ethical excellence is not simply how performance it's how performance governed by moral truth. 09:41.357 --> 09:43.780 [SPEAKER_00]: This means the result matters. 09:44.020 --> 09:46.643 [SPEAKER_00]: What, but so does the method, okay? 09:50.099 --> 09:53.186 [SPEAKER_00]: It means quality matters, but so dishonesty. 09:53.366 --> 09:55.931 [SPEAKER_00]: It means achievement matters, but so justice. 09:56.012 --> 09:58.336 [SPEAKER_00]: It means outcomes matter, but so to people. 09:58.918 --> 10:02.485 [SPEAKER_00]: Ethical excellence asks us to resist two errors. 10:02.565 --> 10:04.750 [SPEAKER_00]: The first error is performance without principle. 10:05.776 --> 10:13.264 [SPEAKER_00]: This is when people are impressive, but unsafe, skilled, but untrustworthy, productive, but corrupt. 10:13.284 --> 10:18.089 [SPEAKER_00]: They may look excellent on the surface, but their excellence as hollow, because it is detached from righteousness. 10:18.710 --> 10:21.453 [SPEAKER_00]: The second error is good intention without discipline. 10:22.174 --> 10:27.860 [SPEAKER_00]: This is when people care about what is right, but they lack the structure, restraint, consistency, and courage to carry it out well. 10:28.441 --> 10:31.564 [SPEAKER_00]: They mean well, but their standards drift because their habits are weak. 10:32.590 --> 10:36.316 [SPEAKER_00]: ethical excellence requires both character and discipline. 10:37.378 --> 10:45.891 [SPEAKER_00]: Colossians 323 says, and was so every ED do it heartedly as it as to the Lord and not and to men. 10:45.951 --> 10:48.515 [SPEAKER_00]: This first elevates the standard. 10:48.976 --> 10:51.059 [SPEAKER_00]: We are not just working for human approval. 10:51.480 --> 10:53.383 [SPEAKER_00]: We are working before God. 10:53.650 --> 10:55.252 [SPEAKER_00]: That changes the spirit of excellence. 10:55.272 --> 11:02.383 [SPEAKER_00]: When your ultimate audience is the lower corners but come harder to cut, falsehood becomes harder to justify sloppiness becomes harder to excuse. 11:03.504 --> 11:03.745 [SPEAKER_00]: Why? 11:04.085 --> 11:06.008 [SPEAKER_00]: Because excellence becomes an offering. 11:06.609 --> 11:09.313 [SPEAKER_00]: And when excellence is an offering, ethics is not optional. 11:12.778 --> 11:20.569 [SPEAKER_00]: And the Ethiopian Bible, one of the rich sources of moral teaching is the book of Aenak. 11:22.574 --> 11:29.159 [SPEAKER_00]: And first thing knock, there's a repeated contrast between the passive righteousness and the passive corruption. 11:29.942 --> 11:31.588 [SPEAKER_00]: Between those who walk, 11:31.653 --> 11:43.064 [SPEAKER_00]: up rightly in those who abuse power, distort justice and oppress others, the messages clear, God sees what human systems ignore and moral disorder is never hidden forever. 11:43.784 --> 11:46.347 [SPEAKER_00]: That perspective is deeply important today. 11:46.387 --> 11:57.497 [SPEAKER_00]: We live in a time when image can outrun substance, when visibility can mask vise, when scale can make people think they are untouchable, but scripture keeps bringing us back to one truth. 11:57.998 --> 12:00.580 [SPEAKER_00]: God is not impressed by polished corruption. 12:05.369 --> 12:10.795 [SPEAKER_00]: Ethical excellence means we pursue quality in a way that having him bless, that's the standard. 12:11.335 --> 12:13.218 [SPEAKER_00]: Not just did it work, but was it right? 12:13.458 --> 12:16.661 [SPEAKER_00]: Not just did I get in, but did I remain faithful? 12:17.382 --> 12:21.146 [SPEAKER_00]: Not just did I advance, but did I honor God and serve people truthfully? 12:22.307 --> 12:23.869 [SPEAKER_00]: That is an ethical excellence. 12:26.852 --> 12:32.018 [SPEAKER_00]: Now let's go deeper. 12:32.926 --> 12:33.667 [SPEAKER_00]: several reasons. 12:34.208 --> 12:36.031 [SPEAKER_00]: One, it builds trust. 12:36.051 --> 12:39.016 [SPEAKER_00]: Trust is the most valuable form of capital in life. 12:40.138 --> 12:44.406 [SPEAKER_00]: People may first notice your talent, but they stay because of your trust. 12:46.389 --> 12:47.591 [SPEAKER_00]: Teams grow because of trust. 12:47.631 --> 12:48.953 [SPEAKER_00]: Partnerships grow because of trust. 12:49.013 --> 12:50.235 [SPEAKER_00]: Family's ill because of trust. 12:50.276 --> 12:51.758 [SPEAKER_00]: Community strengthened because of trust. 12:51.818 --> 12:53.541 [SPEAKER_00]: Leadership stands because of trust. 12:54.463 --> 12:57.027 [SPEAKER_00]: Trust is built slowly and then tested repeatedly. 13:00.533 --> 13:09.611 [SPEAKER_00]: Psalm 15 ask, who makes well in God's holy present, and part of the answer includes this one, who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks to truth in his heart. 13:10.853 --> 13:13.859 [SPEAKER_00]: Number two, it reduces internal fracture. 13:15.142 --> 13:17.867 [SPEAKER_00]: Unethical living creates fragmentation. 13:18.387 --> 13:19.950 [SPEAKER_00]: You may say one thing and do another. 13:19.991 --> 13:21.775 [SPEAKER_00]: You project confidence while hiding fear. 13:21.835 --> 13:24.661 [SPEAKER_00]: You build an image while concealing compromise. 13:24.701 --> 13:30.935 [SPEAKER_00]: That split, life-drained strength, ethical excellence, restores alignment. 13:31.015 --> 13:34.202 [SPEAKER_00]: Your values, your words, and actions begin to match. 13:34.553 --> 13:36.115 [SPEAKER_00]: that coherence gives you endurance. 13:36.275 --> 13:37.097 [SPEAKER_00]: It gives you peace. 13:37.277 --> 13:40.842 [SPEAKER_00]: It lets your focus on the work, instead of maintaining falsehood. 13:41.303 --> 13:51.137 [SPEAKER_00]: James 317 says, but the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, open to reason full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 13:51.697 --> 13:56.444 [SPEAKER_00]: Purity and sincerity matter because divided motives eventually weaken performance. 13:57.205 --> 14:00.830 [SPEAKER_00]: A person can fake alignment for a season but not forever. 14:01.051 --> 14:04.155 [SPEAKER_00]: Sustainable success needs 14:06.785 --> 14:08.909 [SPEAKER_00]: Number three, it makes growth repeatable. 14:09.570 --> 14:11.634 [SPEAKER_00]: Shortcuts often create spikes. 14:11.914 --> 14:13.256 [SPEAKER_00]: Ethics create systems. 14:15.681 --> 14:19.207 [SPEAKER_00]: If success depends on manipulation, then you have to keep manipulating. 14:20.169 --> 14:22.733 [SPEAKER_00]: If growth depends on dishonesty, then you have to keep lying. 14:23.575 --> 14:27.662 [SPEAKER_00]: If influence depends on image management, then you must keep performing. 14:28.688 --> 14:34.227 [SPEAKER_00]: But if your success is built on ethical excellence, your methods can be repeated without destroying your foundation. 14:34.608 --> 14:35.652 [SPEAKER_00]: That is sustainability. 14:36.254 --> 14:41.331 [SPEAKER_00]: You can scale the truth, you can scale fairness, you can scale discipline, accountability and quality. 14:47.065 --> 14:48.668 [SPEAKER_00]: Number four, it survives exposure. 14:49.169 --> 14:50.170 [SPEAKER_00]: Every life is tested. 14:50.211 --> 14:51.593 [SPEAKER_00]: Every organization is tested. 14:51.733 --> 14:52.735 [SPEAKER_00]: Every leader is tested. 14:53.376 --> 14:57.804 [SPEAKER_00]: Exposure may come through crisis, scrutiny, failure, time, or simple proximity. 14:58.525 --> 15:01.731 [SPEAKER_00]: Sooner or later, reality gets rev... 15:01.751 --> 15:01.851 [SPEAKER_00]: Okay? 15:02.523 --> 15:05.746 [SPEAKER_00]: Luke 817 for nothing is secret. 15:06.427 --> 15:08.048 [SPEAKER_00]: That shall not be manifest. 15:08.689 --> 15:10.110 [SPEAKER_00]: Neither anything he had. 15:10.531 --> 15:12.432 [SPEAKER_00]: That shall not be known and come abroad. 15:13.193 --> 15:19.139 [SPEAKER_00]: If that is true, and it is, then sustainable success must be able to survive revelation. 15:20.100 --> 15:21.941 [SPEAKER_00]: If the cold excellence does. 15:22.782 --> 15:27.927 [SPEAKER_00]: Not because ethical people are flawless, but because they are honest, repentant, accountable, and committed to truth. 15:27.947 --> 15:31.230 [SPEAKER_00]: Their lives can endure life. 15:32.982 --> 15:39.031 [SPEAKER_00]: at the deepest levels, sustainable success matters because we are not just building careers or platforms, we are stewards. 15:39.812 --> 15:48.365 [SPEAKER_00]: Due to around me eight warns people, not to forget the Lord when they prosper, success becomes dangerous when it makes us proud, self-sufficient and morally careless. 15:48.906 --> 15:51.309 [SPEAKER_00]: At the co-excellent, it's keep success in proper place. 15:51.430 --> 15:53.593 [SPEAKER_00]: It turns achievement into stewardship and gratitude. 15:54.274 --> 15:55.716 [SPEAKER_00]: That changes everything. 15:58.261 --> 16:01.966 [SPEAKER_00]: If ethics provides the compass, self-discipline helps you stay on the road. 16:02.646 --> 16:04.489 [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of people admire high standards. 16:05.250 --> 16:06.211 [SPEAKER_00]: Fewer maintain them. 16:06.511 --> 16:06.751 [SPEAKER_00]: Why? 16:07.532 --> 16:11.758 [SPEAKER_00]: Because standards are easy to praise and hard to practice. 16:12.318 --> 16:14.982 [SPEAKER_00]: You do not maintain ethical excellence by inspiration alone. 16:15.042 --> 16:20.849 [SPEAKER_00]: You maintain it through discipline habits, train desires, guarded choices, and repeated obedience. 16:22.611 --> 16:24.233 [SPEAKER_00]: Self-discipline is not punishment. 16:24.253 --> 16:24.994 [SPEAKER_00]: It's training. 16:28.113 --> 16:32.239 [SPEAKER_00]: It is the ability to govern yourself so that your convictions shape your actions. 16:33.681 --> 16:39.890 [SPEAKER_00]: Proverbs 2528, a man without self-control is like a city, broken into and left without walls. 16:40.030 --> 16:41.252 [SPEAKER_00]: That image is powerful. 16:41.272 --> 16:44.597 [SPEAKER_00]: A city without walls is exposed, vulnerable, easy to invade. 16:45.398 --> 16:57.816 [SPEAKER_00]: Likewise, life without self-control is open to impulse, ego, fear, lust, pride, anger, greed, and convenience. 16:59.095 --> 17:09.051 [SPEAKER_00]: Self-discipline helps you say no to the lie, to the hidden shortcut, the emotional reaction in flighted ego, appetite that would rule you, or the excuse that lowers the standard. 17:09.071 --> 17:16.143 [SPEAKER_00]: And it helps you say yes to the hard truth, to the preparation, the accountability, the consistency, the delayed gratification and the obedience. 17:16.563 --> 17:19.348 [SPEAKER_00]: First Corinthians chapter 9, 24 through 27, 17:20.172 --> 17:22.738 [SPEAKER_00]: every athlete exercises self-control and all things. 17:22.798 --> 17:24.822 [SPEAKER_00]: I discipline my body and keep it under control. 17:25.443 --> 17:27.728 [SPEAKER_00]: Paul's point is not just physical restraint. 17:28.450 --> 17:29.532 [SPEAKER_00]: It's purposeful training. 17:29.973 --> 17:36.567 [SPEAKER_00]: If athletes practice discipline for a fading prize, how much more should we practice discipline for a life that honors God? 17:37.309 --> 17:38.491 [SPEAKER_00]: This matters in every area. 17:39.033 --> 17:40.155 [SPEAKER_00]: If you won't, 17:40.135 --> 17:42.137 [SPEAKER_00]: ethical speech, you need discipline speech. 17:42.197 --> 17:44.920 [SPEAKER_00]: If you won't ethical finance, as you should be disciplined spending. 17:45.580 --> 17:48.063 [SPEAKER_00]: If you won't ethical leadership, you need discipline ego. 17:48.703 --> 17:52.427 [SPEAKER_00]: If you won't ethical excellence and work, you need discipline habits. 17:53.287 --> 17:56.110 [SPEAKER_00]: If you won't purity of motive, you need discipline reflection and prayer. 17:56.270 --> 18:09.703 [SPEAKER_00]: Self-discipline is the bridge between what you believe and how you live. 18:10.375 --> 18:12.278 [SPEAKER_00]: High standards are not built on the stage. 18:12.318 --> 18:13.260 [SPEAKER_00]: They're built in secret. 18:13.901 --> 18:16.505 [SPEAKER_00]: Public failure often begins with private permission. 18:17.146 --> 18:20.472 [SPEAKER_00]: Private compromise tells public consequences where they lay in. 18:21.473 --> 18:23.477 [SPEAKER_00]: That's why self-discipline matters so much. 18:24.358 --> 18:26.161 [SPEAKER_00]: It works where no applause is present. 18:26.261 --> 18:28.305 [SPEAKER_00]: It forms habit because of spotlight clubs. 18:28.365 --> 18:30.949 [SPEAKER_00]: It trains the conscious to respond quickly and faithfully. 18:31.840 --> 18:37.408 [SPEAKER_00]: In the Gospel of Luke, 1610, Jesus says, one of his faithful and very little is also faithful and much. 18:37.448 --> 18:40.893 [SPEAKER_00]: And the one who is dishonest and very little is also dishonest and much. 18:41.755 --> 18:44.218 [SPEAKER_00]: This first destroys the myth of harmless compromise. 18:44.639 --> 18:50.327 [SPEAKER_00]: Small dishonesty matters, small laziness matters, small acts of concealment matters, small ethical breaches matter. 18:50.988 --> 18:51.209 [SPEAKER_00]: Why? 18:51.249 --> 18:55.775 [SPEAKER_00]: Because little choices shape the person who will make larger ones later. 18:56.536 --> 19:01.003 [SPEAKER_00]: Faithfulness grows the same way compromise grows. 19:01.912 --> 19:16.378 [SPEAKER_00]: In wisdom six, 17 through 18, the beginning of wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction and giving he to her laws is a assurance of immorality, instruction, attention, law, practice. 19:16.638 --> 19:18.161 [SPEAKER_00]: Those are disciplined words. 19:18.882 --> 19:23.751 [SPEAKER_00]: At the collect once is not fake goodness, is form about repeated attention to what is right. 19:25.739 --> 19:34.754 [SPEAKER_00]: And even in the Ethiopian tradition, the broader wisdom and moral literature emphasizes divine accountability and the lasting difference between the righteousness and the corrupt. 19:35.455 --> 19:42.006 [SPEAKER_00]: Again and again, the message is that righteousness is not accidental, it's chosen, guarded, and lived. 19:42.026 --> 19:46.754 [SPEAKER_00]: If you want to be relentless in ethics, start where only God sees. 19:46.834 --> 19:49.057 [SPEAKER_00]: How do you handle temptation when nobody's present? 19:49.077 --> 19:50.660 [SPEAKER_00]: How do you speak when you're irritated? 19:50.700 --> 19:52.523 [SPEAKER_00]: How do you manage money when oversight is left? 19:54.123 --> 19:57.247 [SPEAKER_00]: How do you tell a story when a small distortion would make you look better? 19:57.307 --> 20:00.410 [SPEAKER_00]: How do you respond when you get away with less than your best? 20:01.091 --> 20:02.192 [SPEAKER_00]: That is standards. 20:02.212 --> 20:03.814 [SPEAKER_00]: That is where standards are maintained. 20:04.175 --> 20:06.798 [SPEAKER_00]: Private discipline protects public integrity. 20:09.080 --> 20:11.483 [SPEAKER_00]: And it's easy to talk about ethics and column seasons. 20:11.684 --> 20:13.185 [SPEAKER_00]: The real test comes under pressure. 20:14.267 --> 20:16.930 [SPEAKER_00]: Pressure reveals what comfort can conceal. 20:17.711 --> 20:18.932 [SPEAKER_00]: When deadlines tighten, 20:19.638 --> 20:20.640 [SPEAKER_00]: do we become careless? 20:21.523 --> 20:24.089 [SPEAKER_00]: When competition rises, do we become manipulative? 20:24.590 --> 20:26.314 [SPEAKER_00]: What fear grows, do we become deceptive? 20:26.876 --> 20:29.783 [SPEAKER_00]: When opportunity appears, do we rationalize compromise? 20:30.522 --> 20:33.726 [SPEAKER_00]: Pressure does not create character from nothing, but it exposes it. 20:34.327 --> 20:38.873 [SPEAKER_00]: That is why relentless this matters because the ethical life requires endurance under strength. 20:39.514 --> 20:42.237 [SPEAKER_00]: Daniel is one of the most clearest biblical examples. 20:42.297 --> 20:47.504 [SPEAKER_00]: Through drawn from a context accepted across Christian traditions. 20:47.544 --> 20:49.287 [SPEAKER_00]: His example speaks strongly here. 20:49.407 --> 20:54.894 [SPEAKER_00]: Daniel was competent, disciplined, trustworthy and morally anchored in hostile environments. 20:55.475 --> 20:59.500 [SPEAKER_00]: Daniel 64, his enemy salt grounds for complaint. 20:59.480 --> 21:05.889 [SPEAKER_00]: They could find no ground for a complaint of any fault because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. 21:06.770 --> 21:16.604 [SPEAKER_00]: That is a remarkable description, not because Daniel was superhuman, but because his life had pattern discipline and integrity, he did not invent ethics when testing. 21:18.206 --> 21:20.129 [SPEAKER_00]: He lived them before the test came. 21:20.970 --> 21:22.912 [SPEAKER_00]: That is what prepares a person for pressure. 21:23.593 --> 21:28.440 [SPEAKER_00]: Now let's look at Sarash 2-1, my child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself 21:29.062 --> 21:31.446 [SPEAKER_00]: That's honest wisdom, testing is not strange. 21:31.506 --> 21:32.327 [SPEAKER_00]: It's part of the path. 21:33.108 --> 21:33.709 [SPEAKER_00]: So what do you do? 21:34.571 --> 21:37.395 [SPEAKER_00]: You have to decide who you are in advance. 21:37.415 --> 21:48.152 [SPEAKER_00]: Build structures that support obedience, set boundaries before temptation arrives, tell the truth early, not late, practice repentance quickly, stay close to God, invite and accountability. 21:48.452 --> 21:55.423 [SPEAKER_00]: Pressure can make a weak foundation collapse, but it can also reveal the strength of a life built on ethical discipline. 22:01.242 --> 22:02.343 [SPEAKER_00]: let me say this clearly. 22:03.044 --> 22:06.186 [SPEAKER_00]: Excellence without ethics is dangerous. 22:07.187 --> 22:10.790 [SPEAKER_00]: When gifted people lack more grounding their gifts can magnify harm. 22:12.071 --> 22:15.734 [SPEAKER_00]: The smarter they are, the better they may become at rationalizing wrongdoing. 22:15.914 --> 22:19.537 [SPEAKER_00]: The more persuasive they are, the easier it becomes to mislead others. 22:19.597 --> 22:25.182 [SPEAKER_00]: The more successful they appear, the more people they excuse, what should never be excused. 22:25.202 --> 22:31.047 [SPEAKER_00]: That 22:31.246 --> 22:33.197 [SPEAKER_00]: He has told you, oh man, what is good? 22:33.238 --> 22:38.488 [SPEAKER_00]: And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? 22:40.190 --> 22:42.152 [SPEAKER_00]: Justice, kindness, humility. 22:42.433 --> 22:43.754 [SPEAKER_00]: Those are ethical anchors. 22:44.696 --> 22:47.499 [SPEAKER_00]: Without justice, excellence becomes exploitation. 22:48.180 --> 22:50.463 [SPEAKER_00]: Without kindness, excellence becomes cruelty. 22:50.523 --> 22:52.986 [SPEAKER_00]: Without humility, excellence becomes product. 22:53.546 --> 22:57.171 [SPEAKER_00]: And pride is especially dangerous because it blinds people to their own decay. 22:57.631 --> 23:03.158 [SPEAKER_00]: Proverbs 16, 18, pride goes before destruction in a haughty spirit before a fall. 23:04.900 --> 23:08.745 [SPEAKER_00]: If success feeds pride, then success itself becomes a threat. 23:08.843 --> 23:13.189 [SPEAKER_00]: But if success is governed by ethics, pride is challenged by truth, humility, and accountability. 23:14.351 --> 23:20.921 [SPEAKER_00]: The Ethiopian spiritual tradition also gives serious warning about the fate of the proud and unjust. 23:21.001 --> 23:22.363 [SPEAKER_00]: The theme appears repeatedly. 23:23.024 --> 23:31.397 [SPEAKER_00]: Those who abuse power oppressed others or trust in corruption may prosper for a moment, but they do not stand forever before the judgment of God. 23:34.141 --> 23:37.045 [SPEAKER_00]: That warning is mercy, if we receive it early. 23:37.278 --> 23:42.763 [SPEAKER_00]: Because it calls us to a line of achievement with righteousness before ruined teachers to lessen the hard way. 23:45.086 --> 23:45.966 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's get practical. 23:47.128 --> 23:48.889 [SPEAKER_00]: How do we become relentless in ethics? 23:49.510 --> 23:51.732 [SPEAKER_00]: How do we grow in excellence for we didn't immoral truth? 23:52.633 --> 23:54.114 [SPEAKER_00]: Tell the truth fast. 23:55.956 --> 23:56.537 [SPEAKER_00]: Simple here. 23:57.338 --> 23:58.198 [SPEAKER_00]: Just tell the truth. 24:00.100 --> 24:06.947 [SPEAKER_00]: I have seen so many people ruin their lives I've seen so many businesses fail, 24:08.530 --> 24:24.132 [SPEAKER_00]: have some courage, especially me and now we live in a society that just kills me when I see a man that doesn't have the courage to stand up and tell the truth. 24:24.473 --> 24:25.514 [SPEAKER_00]: I can't even look at you. 24:25.554 --> 24:27.076 [SPEAKER_00]: I can't even respect you as a man. 24:28.238 --> 24:29.740 [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm not going to go on to detail here. 24:29.820 --> 24:30.321 [SPEAKER_00]: It's simple. 24:30.341 --> 24:34.707 [SPEAKER_00]: We know what the truth 24:35.497 --> 24:36.798 [SPEAKER_00]: Build non-negotiables. 24:36.978 --> 24:39.861 [SPEAKER_00]: No ahead of time, what you will not do. 24:41.323 --> 24:44.005 [SPEAKER_00]: Do not wait until temptation to create your standards. 24:44.065 --> 24:46.147 [SPEAKER_00]: Write them down, break through them to side now. 24:48.149 --> 24:49.931 [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, I won't lie to protect my image. 24:50.451 --> 24:51.733 [SPEAKER_00]: I will not use people to get ahead. 24:51.813 --> 24:53.555 [SPEAKER_00]: I will not hide financial dishonesty. 24:53.595 --> 24:54.876 [SPEAKER_00]: I will not compromise wisdom. 24:57.018 --> 24:58.339 [SPEAKER_00]: Okay. 24:58.359 --> 25:01.302 [SPEAKER_00]: I will not let exhaustion become an excuse for wrongdoing. 25:02.902 --> 25:05.765 [SPEAKER_00]: non-negotiables reduce confusion in moments of pressure. 25:06.226 --> 25:07.848 [SPEAKER_00]: Three, practice small obediencees. 25:08.649 --> 25:11.553 [SPEAKER_00]: Big integrity is built through small obedience. 25:11.573 --> 25:13.555 [SPEAKER_00]: Answer the email honestly, do the work well. 25:13.615 --> 25:15.177 [SPEAKER_00]: Give credit fairly, be on time. 25:15.257 --> 25:16.979 [SPEAKER_00]: Keep your word, return what is not yours. 25:17.520 --> 25:18.901 [SPEAKER_00]: Correct the misleading statement. 25:18.961 --> 25:20.543 [SPEAKER_00]: Finish what you said you would do. 25:20.583 --> 25:25.990 [SPEAKER_00]: These are not glamorous acts, but they will build moral muscle. 25:26.560 --> 25:33.852 [SPEAKER_00]: four, guard your appetites, not every single desire should lead, self-discipline requires that we train desire rather than obey it automatically. 25:34.213 --> 25:42.967 [SPEAKER_00]: Titus two, 11 through 12 says the grace of God trains us to renounce ungodlyness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled upright in God they lives. 25:43.809 --> 25:48.096 [SPEAKER_00]: Grace does not remove the need for training, grace and powers it. 25:51.333 --> 25:52.134 [SPEAKER_00]: stay accountable. 25:52.555 --> 25:54.178 [SPEAKER_00]: Ethical isolation is dangerous. 25:54.739 --> 25:55.941 [SPEAKER_00]: We all have blind spots. 25:55.981 --> 25:56.943 [SPEAKER_00]: We all need correction. 25:56.963 --> 26:00.048 [SPEAKER_00]: We need people who can ask car questions and receive honest answers. 26:00.529 --> 26:01.751 [SPEAKER_00]: Accountability is not weakness. 26:01.831 --> 26:02.532 [SPEAKER_00]: It is wisdom. 26:05.357 --> 26:06.760 [SPEAKER_00]: Number six, examine your motives. 26:07.421 --> 26:09.625 [SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes the act look good, but the motive is mixed. 26:09.745 --> 26:12.109 [SPEAKER_00]: Ask my doing this for truth or a clause. 26:12.275 --> 26:18.744 [SPEAKER_00]: for service or image, for stewardship or ego, for God's glory or mock control, motive work is deep work. 26:18.824 --> 26:20.647 [SPEAKER_00]: It keeps excellence from becoming vanity. 26:21.588 --> 26:28.218 [SPEAKER_00]: Keep your soul fed, prayer, scripture, confession, worship, silence, and repentance are not side issues. 26:28.398 --> 26:29.760 [SPEAKER_00]: They are central. 26:30.803 --> 26:34.147 [SPEAKER_00]: You cannot sustain ethical excellence on wheel power alone. 26:34.187 --> 26:34.888 [SPEAKER_00]: You need grace. 26:35.409 --> 26:36.190 [SPEAKER_00]: You need truth. 26:36.210 --> 26:38.152 [SPEAKER_00]: You need the presence of God shaping your heart. 26:38.713 --> 26:43.098 [SPEAKER_00]: Psalm 11, 1911 says, I have stored up your word in my heart that I may not sinning is due. 26:43.719 --> 26:46.042 [SPEAKER_00]: Interformation supports outer faithfulness. 26:53.170 --> 26:54.432 [SPEAKER_00]: As we come to a close, 26:56.335 --> 26:57.196 [SPEAKER_00]: Let me leave you with this. 26:57.797 --> 27:01.941 [SPEAKER_00]: The world does not only need more talented people, it needs more trust for the people. 27:02.522 --> 27:10.051 [SPEAKER_00]: It does not need more productive leaders, it needs more principal leaders, it does not need more ambiguous builders, it needs more ethical builders. 27:10.711 --> 27:12.514 [SPEAKER_00]: Be relentless in the things that matter the most. 27:12.574 --> 27:16.778 [SPEAKER_00]: Be relentless in honesty, discipline, humility, justice, mercy, keep in your word. 27:17.499 --> 27:22.545 [SPEAKER_00]: Doing excellent work the right way, private integrity, repentance when you fail and returning to God. 27:23.673 --> 27:27.237 [SPEAKER_00]: because ethical excellence is not weakness, it's strength under rule. 27:28.579 --> 27:33.365 [SPEAKER_00]: I wanna close out with one final scripture, second Timothy 2 through 15, or I'm sorry. 27:33.885 --> 27:39.392 [SPEAKER_00]: Second Timothy chapter 2 verse 15, do your best to prevent yourself to God as one approved. 27:39.512 --> 27:44.418 [SPEAKER_00]: A worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handled the word of truth. 27:44.438 --> 27:45.179 [SPEAKER_00]: That's the change. 27:45.259 --> 27:48.483 [SPEAKER_00]: Do your best, present yourself to God, be unassigned, handle truth. 27:49.003 --> 27:50.765 [SPEAKER_00]: Rightly, that is relitless life. 27:51.586 --> 27:52.127 [SPEAKER_00]: Let's pray. 27:53.845 --> 27:56.909 [SPEAKER_00]: Lord God, we thank you for being holy, just wise and true. 27:56.969 --> 28:00.854 [SPEAKER_00]: We thank you for calling us not only to succeed, but have to live rightly. 28:00.914 --> 28:07.141 [SPEAKER_00]: We thank you for reminding us, excellence means more than achievement, and that true success must be rooted in integrity. 28:08.163 --> 28:10.005 [SPEAKER_00]: Teach us to be relentless in what is good. 28:10.145 --> 28:14.210 [SPEAKER_00]: Give us the strength, the reject shortcuts, at damage ourselves. 28:14.270 --> 28:16.793 [SPEAKER_00]: Give us the courage to tell the truth even when it costs us. 28:16.853 --> 28:19.937 [SPEAKER_00]: Give us discipline, the maintain, house standards and private public. 28:20.913 --> 28:23.737 [SPEAKER_00]: Form us in clean heart, steady minds, and obedient spirits. 28:24.418 --> 28:25.719 [SPEAKER_00]: Help us walk in wisdom. 28:26.721 --> 28:31.266 [SPEAKER_00]: Help us honor people to do justice, to love mercy and walk humbly with you. 28:32.548 --> 28:50.852 [SPEAKER_00]: Where we have compromised for give us, where we have been careless, correct us, where we have been proud, humblest, where we've been weak, strengthen us, let your words shape our choices, let your spirit govern our motives, let our work be honest, let our leadership be pure, let our influence be safe, let our success never outrun our character. 28:51.592 --> 28:53.915 [SPEAKER_00]: Teach us to build what can stand in the light. 28:53.935 --> 28:56.037 [SPEAKER_00]: Teach us to pursue what lasts. 28:56.077 --> 28:59.581 [SPEAKER_00]: Teach us to live in such a way that our lives bring you honor. 28:59.941 --> 29:03.265 [SPEAKER_00]: May we be faithful in all things and faithful and great things. 29:03.325 --> 29:12.975 [SPEAKER_00]: May we be disciplined when no one sees and be courageous when pressure comes and be humble when blessings come and may we never gain the world that praises at the cost of what you treasure. 29:13.456 --> 29:19.422 [SPEAKER_00]: Root us in truth, establish us in righteousness and make us people of ethical excellence. 29:19.402 --> 29:23.947 [SPEAKER_00]: for your glory and for the good of others in the name of the Father's Son and the Holy Spirit. 29:24.508 --> 29:24.848 [SPEAKER_00]: Amen. 29:26.270 --> 29:27.832 [SPEAKER_00]: Guys, thank you so much for joining me today. 29:27.872 --> 29:30.896 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't forget to add in its Michael Hanks, published out their own Facebook. 29:31.696 --> 29:38.384 [SPEAKER_00]: If this message helps you today, take time and reflect on area of life where God may be calling you to be stronger discipline. 29:39.826 --> 29:41.969 [SPEAKER_00]: Deeper integrity or higher standards keep going. 29:42.910 --> 29:45.713 [SPEAKER_00]: Keep building will and stay relentless in what is right.