“You desire truth in the inward parts.” Psalm 51:6
Integrity should not be a vague, ambiguous concept, for it is a clear command and standard set for us by God in Scripture. Integrity is an essential part of the nature and character of God “who is light” (1 John 1:5). The life of Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of integrity in action.
Integrity is a moral value which includes honesty, honour, decency, trustworthiness and loyalty. Someone once said, “It’s a matter of consistency between word and action, belief and behaviour and between value and practice.” Integrity is a matter of conscience.
Integrity does not allow us to act out of what is popular, fashionable, or convenient at the time. John Ortberg wrote, “Christ’s objective for His disciples is to make us disciplined people who do the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reason.” Or as CS Lewis put it, “Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.”
Truth and truth-telling are essential in all our relationships. It simply means saying what you mean, and meaning what you say and acting accordingly. To walk in integrity, one needs to be brave and know that there is a definite risk of being rejected and alienated as a result.
The opposite of integrity is hypocrisy, insincerity, falsehood and duplicity, all of which leads to corruption and the breakdown of trust. The Church has to be extremely careful in this regard for it is frequently accused of hypocrisy because people do not see the values we proclaim enacted in our lives, particularly in the way that we treat others.
But we are all sinful human beings living amongst a growing lack of integrity in our world.
Despite this, Jesus clearly calls us to abide in Him and to “live a life worthy of the calling we profess”.
If we know that we are falling short in any area of integrity then we have the responsibility to come humbly before the throne of grace, to confess, to repent, and to take the necessary action to change our lives to reflect the standard of integrity set for us by our Lord.
We all need to grow day by day to the full stature of being people of integrity and to become the believers that integrate word and action, belief and behaviour, value and character.
A Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, help us to follow your example of truth and righteousness and enable us by your Holy Spirit to live lives of integrity. Amen.