Integrity

                Integrity is the soundness of one's moral principals. It is the adherence to one's moral code. If you have integrity, it means that you follow your moral code and do not backslide or make excuses. If you say that stealing is bad, you refuse to steal because it goes against your moral code. Christians should be people of integrity. If we say love our enemies as ourselves, we will do it because we know what is right. When we say that something is sinful, it is wrong, and we should be avoiding it.

                Well, why should a Christian have integrity? God forgives everything, so why should we put in that much extra work? Well, Proverbs 10:9 says, "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his way crooked will be found out." Proverbs 11:3 says, "The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them." When we walk in integrity, we are secure and we are being led to where God wants us to go. If we do not have integrity, we will constantly be falling into pits and falling away from God and into temptation. Without integrity, we will just go after anything that looks good, no matter how bad for us it is. Proverbs 28:6 says, "Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways."

                It is an easier life to live with integrity. It may look hard on the inside, but here is what others see when they look at your integrity: "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest in much." (Luke 16:10) If you are not able to do the small things with integrity, you are not trusted to do the big things with integrity. If you are not willing to clean the bathrooms, you are not one who is easily trusted to run the company. Integrity is important. Why? Because you will be known as a person who does what they say. If you do not follow any moral code, then there is no point in believing you when it comes to something as paramount as truth and Christ. How can I believe that you follow the only good man to ever exist when you were just stealing without any sense of regret? Living a life of integrity also brings protection from others. 1 Peter 3:16 says, "Having a good conscious so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame."  When you walk with integrity, no one can gossip about you or curse you, for their words will have nothing to back them up on. You do exactly what you say is right. You live by your moral code.

                Living a life of integrity is not a walk in the park, but the benefits are well worth it. Not only does God call us to live a life of integrity, but even the world knows that integrity is a characteristic worth having. God finds integrity so important that Proverbs 20:7 says, "The righteous who walks in his integrity - blessed are his children after him!" Integrity is a big deal.

                How do we, as Christians in a sinful world, show integrity for God? Simple: Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men." (Colossians 3:23) In everything you do, do it for the glory of God. (Colossians 3:17)


                                                                                                                                         -D