December 12, 2018
Think of the word integrity. What does it mean to you? Well, in general terms, it is usually described as being the same whether someone is watching you or not. Being honest with others and with God by not stealing, or treating someone wrong.
Think about someone who you know that is full of integrity. Go ahead, think. Is it your grandpa? A friend? a parent? A husband or wife?
In my own life, I would say that my grandfather is the most honest person of integrity I know. Being able grow up with him a little bit and seeing how he treated people with honesty taught me a lot about the importance of integrity. I look up to him as an excellent example of always being honest in your dealings and just trusting God even when individuals take advantage of you.
We often think of integrity in terms of actions done on the outside as being the obedience of the command being a person of integrity. This is definitely one aspect which has been pretty well established here in the United States–although it seems to be disintegrating a little bit. It is obviously a good thing to be honest in work or whatever job you are doing, but I believe that the idea of integrity goes much farther than outward actions, and translates into a very powerful relational tool that can be used to grow closer to God and farther from our those temptations which so easily entangle us.
Be honest with God. It is as easy as that. One part of being a person of integrity is just admitting that God knows everything about you and what you do. He knows your temptations, your sins, your desires, your weaknesses, there is no way to hide from it! Check out Psalms 139 if you doubt what I’m telling you! “where shall I flee from your presence!?” says the psalmist.
In the sixth chapter of Isaiah the prophet stands before the God of the universe who sits high on his throne. There is smoke filling the place and angels flying all over the scene singing “Holy, holy, holy…” What a scene! In this moment, Isaiah understands the gravity of what this means and says “I am undone.” That is to say that He felt completely open and vulnerable before God. I don’t know if had kept things in before this and now he couldn’t do that anymore, or maybe it was just revealed to him in this moment the reality of his condition, but either way when his broken past became a present terror to him as the truth became revealed, he was finally healed. Could this mean something for us?
Some of the most incredible changes that have occurred in my life was when I became honest with God. I won’t deny that I have a problem (many problems). I need to be real with God and admit my faults. He already knows what I am doing wrong, but there is something about integrity with God that repels me from it. The reality of who I am scares me. But, it is better to know who I am in my sin nature and be honest with God in my desire that He changes me, then continue living as I am. I desire change, but the only way that will happen is if I admit my problems and my condition to God.
“If you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
Be honest in your work, but don’t stop there. Take the opportunity to be honest with God. He knows already. The only thing that will happen is that you will be changed according to His image. Try it out. Be a man or woman with integrity in front of God and experience what I and other Christians have experienced through the freedom it brings. Be undone before God as Isaiah was and see how He radically changes the way you operate. God is good all the time and all the time God is good.
God bless.
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