Integrity

Last year, I had the privilege of hearing two messages on ‘integrity’ in two conferences. In one of the conferences, the speaker quoted a survey of Christian leaders to point out why leaders give in and compromise on integrity. Several hundreds of pastors and Christian leaders who had compromised their integrity and fallen into deadly sins were asked the question, ‘Why did you do it?’ The three main reasons that they gave for their moral failure were:

• I stopped spending time with the Lord.
• I was not accountable to anybody in my life and I had nobody to correct me.
• I never thought that I will commit such a sin in my life.

These pastors and Christian leaders worked very hard to build up their own image and reputation in ministry. They gave importance to personal convenience and pleasure. They also used shortcuts to success in the ministry and in their personal life. They failed to give importance to developing their integrity. So they yielded to sin and lost their testimony and ministry. 

What is integrity?

 The dictionary says that integrity is ‘honesty’, ‘purity’ or ‘ uprightness.’ The word integrity comes from the word ‘integer’, which means ‘a whole number.’ So integrity is also ‘wholeness’ or the ‘unimpaired state of anything.’ If you have integrity, then not only your words and actions will match but also your private life and outside life will match up. You will be what God wants you to be wherever you are. Abe C. Van Der Puy, the great mission leader wrote about the lack of integrity among Christians. “I have a deep concern; a concern so deep it makes my heart hurt. It comes from observing the low level of Christian living in the many churches we visit for missionary conferences … Recently my wife and I have been agonising over the unchristian living we have seen and heard about.”Keeping up good witness at home, office and the church is becoming a vanishing commodity today among believers. This is mainly because believers are not striving to keep up their integrity intact. Here are a few ways by which the leaders in the Bible kept up their integrity.

• By excercising self-control and disciplining the body: “Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things … I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (1 Cor.9:25,27)
• By turning away from evil: “There is none like him (Job) on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns (turns away from) evil.” (Job 1:8)
• By being upright and blameless in all behaviour: “You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly (uprightly) and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe.” (1Thess. 2:10)
• By being honest in all dealings: “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have defrauded no one.” (2 Cor.7:1,2)67
• By keeping good conscience before God: “Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” (Acts 23:1)
• By doing what is honourable: “Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do what is honorable, though we may seem disqualified.” (2 Cor 13:7)
• By living a life of uprightness before God and man: “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” (Dan.6:22)

(Taken from True Discipleship, January 1998)