The Great Wall of China is one of the Seven Wonders of the World stretching over 4,000 miles. It was built to protect China from the barbarians to the north. The designers of the wall made it so high that it could not be scaled, so thick that it could not be penetrated, and so long that no one could go around it.

During the first one hundred years of the wall’s existence China was invaded three times, without the wall ever being climbed or breached. The problem wasn’t the wall. The problem was the gatekeepers! In each of these invasions the barbarians bribed the gatekeepers who opened the gates, so the enemies just walked right through.

The protection of the Great Wall of China was only as secure as its gatekeepers. No matter how strong we may feel, we can never forget that we must not allow ourselves to be seduced and bribed into opening the gates to the enemy. Our integrity and our authority depend on how well we keep the gates!

Even the Great Wall of China could not survive a loss of integrity.