Daily Manna from Heaven

“The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.” -Proverbs 10:9

“I’ll be home by 9 o’clock.” But nine comes and he doesn’t show. The same thing is true of ten, and eleven. You finally hear the door at 11:50. “I thought you said you’d be home by 9 o’clock.” “Yeah, but something happened.”

Then what about the line, “The check’s in the mail.” So you wait three more days, then four more days, and finally a week. And still no check. You call and say, “I understood you to say that your check was in the mail.” “Well, I thought it was,” is the reply you get, followed by a pretty incredulous line about the envelope getting lost in the mail. Sure.

Taking inventory for a minute, would you say that people are less prone to keep their word, less apt to show up when they say they will be there, and generally have less integrity, than a few years ago?

When national figures disappoint you and what they say is often questioned, when ministers and clergy seem to lead two lives—one personal and the other public, when educators say that moral values can be taught without religion, is it any wonder that talk about integrity today sounds as relevant as a discussion of the fourth vertebrae of an extinct dinosaur?

“OK,” you say, “I’m with you. But what can we do to stop the erosion of character today?” More than you might think. First, let’s define our terms. Integrity is what you are—it’s the moral fiber within you that determines what you are. Character is like the flip side of the coin. It relates more to your actions—what you do.

The foundation of integrity is an old-fashioned moral belief that there is a God in heaven who cares about what happens on planet Earth. It is based on the fact that He calls some things right and other things wrong. The Ten Commandments were not given as “Ten Suggestions” or “Ten Ideas about Morality.” They were both negative and positive as God said, “This is wrong and these things are right.”

Another foundation stone of integrity is responsibility and accountability, which, like two oars of a little rowboat, keep your life on an even keel.

Shortly before his death, author James Michener talked about the changes which he had seen in his generation. He said that the old days were not really so great but that a generation ago men and women considered some things right and others wrong. They didn’t always do right, but they knew the difference. But today, he contended, individuals who don’t know the difference are dangerous and a threat to society.

John Souter, in an article entitled, “That Missing Word: Integrity,” says that there are four enemies of integrity. He describes them as deception, shallowness, artificiality, and expediency.

Deception was what Abraham used when he didn’t want to admit that Sarah was his wife. “She is my sister,” he said—which was a half-truth.

Shallowness, the second enemy of integrity, is the belief that it doesn’t really matter. “Everybody’s doing it,” people say, excusing their behavior. Shallowness is the refusal to take an unpopular stand, saying, “It’s not my fight.” Character is the result of convictions, which are the foundation of integrity.

Artificiality is the curse of our day. “How are you doing?” someone asks, and you respond, “Oh, just fine.” You are not, but neither do you want the emotional involvement of giving an honest answer.

Expedience, the fourth enemy of integrity, is the path of least resistance, the short-cut. It is the presumption that if your wife will never know, it’s OK to do it. It is sacrificing the permanent on the altar of the expedient, and it is the curse of our day. No matter what the cost, integrity is worth it.

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“The preceding material was written by Dr. Harold J. Sala, and is copyrighted. Reproduction for sale or financial profit is prohibited. Permission to reproduce this article was granted by Guidelines, Inc.”
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“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” -Proverbs 11:3

A certain Baptist deacon had an old car that was broken down more than it was running, and decided to sell it while he could still get something out of it. He ran an ad in the paper describing it as a trustworthy vehicle which had lots of good miles left in it. When a prospective buyer responded to the ad, the man poured it on, telling him what a good car it was and how badly he hated to part with it.

The buyer said, “I’d like to buy your car, but I can’t pay you until the first of next month, but you can trust me. I’m a Presbyterian elder in our local church, and my word is as good as my bond.”

So the two men shook hands on the deal and the Presbyterian elder drove away with the car previously owned by the Baptist deacon. When he got home, his wife asked, “Where is the money?” And her husband replied, ‘Well, he can’t give us the money until the first of next month. But there is nothing to worry about. We can trust him. He’s a Presbyterian elder.” And then he added, “What’s a Presbyterian elder?” And she replied, “About the same thing as a Baptist deacon.” Whereupon her husband exclaimed, “We’re in real trouble.”

Chuck Swindoll says that integrity is simply doing what you say you are going to do. Unquestionably, keeping your word—telling it like it really is without embellishment or exaggeration—is a reflection of integrity. Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary says that integrity is being incorruptible or complete, “firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values, utter sincerity, honesty, and candor.”

If there is one flagrant flaw in the moral character of people today it is the lack of integrity in both public and private life. David said “in his haste” (or dismay, as another translation puts it) that “all men are liars” (Psalm 116:11). If he had lived today, said a casual observer of what is happening, he could have taken his time and said it!

One of the reasons that youth today are so cynical about life is that dishonesty is so common they disbelieve almost everything and everyone. But is there a foundation for their cynicism? Unquestionably. Politicians say one thing on one occasion and reverse themselves, affirming the very opposite, a few days later. Honesty in both public and private life is a reflection of the lack of integrity in people today.

There are some moral fibers which constitute the very fabric of a society, and when the fabric is gradually ripped and torn, the end result is moral confusion and social disintegration. Integrity is part of that fabric, and it is sadly in need of repair today.

Some say that people can still have integrity without having religious convictions. Though I question that premise, I do know that individuals who believe they are accountable to God, and have a moral framework and code by which they live based upon biblical convictions, are far more apt to believe that integrity is important than those who think they answer to no one and are not accountable for what they do.

Expedience, shallowness and artificiality are all enemies of integrity. They are to be abhorred no matter how great the cost. When the North Koreans captured General William Dean, he was permitted to write one letter home. He chose to write to his son and in the letter he said, “Bill, remember that integrity is the most important thing of all. Let it always be your aim.”

Question: Have you sold any old cars lately? Should the mother of the mechanic who worked on your car have bought it, would you have been embarrassed? No matter what others may do, integrity is a conviction which can make the difference in your life, and when you make a difference, our world will be better.

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“The preceding material was written by Dr. Harold J. Sala, and is copyrighted. Reproduction for sale or financial profit is prohibited. Permission to reproduce this article was granted by Guidelines, Inc.”
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