WHY YOU MUST BUILD HONOUR AND INTEGRITY (PART 1 0F 2)

21st OCTOBER 2022

 “And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David, your father walked, with the integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel”. –  1 Kings 9:4-5

One word that many people do not like to hear you mention is, “Integrity or Honour.” Recently, I listened to a heated argument in my workplace, and one of the parties told the other, “I do not expect that from you. You have no integrity at all.” It is not unlikely that we have heard such altercations among people around us. When such statements are made concerning us or someone else, it presupposes the fact that somebody had done something despicable or acted deceitfully.

 When I was growing up, it was not easy for me to understand clearly what the word “integrity” means. My limited understanding of the word was that people shouldn’t steal, cheat or tell lies; Which was very okay for me to understand and a good compass for me to develop a healthy character. However, later in life, I understood that the word “integrity” cuts across many aspects of life. In fact, you can say the truth and still fail the test of integrity. You can as well take what belongs to you and still fail the test of integrity. Let me give you some common examples:

·        Having a wrong canal knowledge of another and proudly stating the obvious fact in public to ridicule the other person or run down their moral character fails the integrity test. That is so, even though you stated the truth publicly.

·        Eavesdropping or prying into the discussion of others and exaggerating the same or reinstating it to persons who shouldn’t hear about the issues discussed. That is so, even though you are stating the truth.

·        At some points in life, taking things that belong to you without the knowledge of others, and pretending that someone else has taken them, also fails the test of integrity. That is so even though what you took belongs to you.

When we talk of dishonesty and lack of integrity, so many things come to play. A pastor was preaching recently, and he said: “People see officials taking bribes, business leaders demanding kickbacks, investors parlaying inside information into untold wealth, and they lament the demise of integrity”.  People read about battered wives, jobless husbands, and abused children and wonder what happened to care.” These are clear examples of a lack of integrity.

In totality, therefore, Integrity means who you are when nobody is looking at you. Job said, “Does He not see my ways? If I have walked with falsehood, or if my foot has hastened to deceit, let me be weighed on honest scales, that God may know my integrity” (Job 31:4-6). Some of us hide our true identities and do many stupid and wrong things in secret. But God sees all things. Therefore, what you would not do in the open, do not do them secretly.

 Today’s word tells us that integrity is about uprightness and keeping the statutes and rules of the Lord. This is why the book of Proverbs says that; a false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight … The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness. …  (Proverbs 11:1-31

Today is a good day to rebuild your integrity to make you fulfil your destiny. When we are dishonest, we create our own destiny, which takes us several miles away from the riches and faithfulness of God,

PRAYER

Father in the name of Jesus Christ, I pray this day for the spirit of integrity, honesty and uprightness. Lead me, Lord, to your heart wherein lay the power of deliverance that I may receive the purity and sanctification of your holiness. Father, let my integrity set me apart for your faithfulness, security and blessed assurance. AMEN.

FURTHER READING: Colossians 3:9; Numbers 30:2; John 8:32; 2 Timothy 2:15; Philippians 4:8.