Word of the Week - Integrity
“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out” Proverbs 10:9
What is Integrity? The definition is simply “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness; the state of being whole and undivided”. I think of integrity as being true to God, myself, and others with God at the center of it all. I think we have all heard the concept of Integrity as what we do when no one is looking. “Not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.” Ephesians 6:6
As followers of Christ, are we truly living our lives first and foremost to an audience of one, Christ Jesus?
Integrity allows us to live free before God and man – One of the most powerful blessings of Christ is that He came to give us true freedom through the Cross. By overcoming the sin of the world, He gave us the gift of eternal life and the ability to access that same power to overcome our sin and curse of this world. When we are born of the spirit of God, we are redeemed into wholeness in Christ and through this process we become what God intended us to be in Him, our unique person in Christ. There is tremendous security and freedom that is found in realizing that we are created uniquely perfect in God’s image as His sons and daughters and His purpose for us is to live to the fullness of who He called us to be in Him, to realize our full God given potential and “become the best me I can be” and let God take care of the rest.
Prior to my rebirth in Christ at the age of 33, I struggled in many ways; subconsciously, I was always trying to become something or be like someone else. This made me insecure, incomplete, and discontent. Looking back, I can see how I lacked integrity, even though I was generally a good moral person by the standards of the world. I was conflicted because my life was planted in shifting sand and not on the solid foundation of the rock of Christ. When I surrendered my life to Christ and made Him Lord and King of my life, my identity was made complete in Him and I started living secure, free with wholeness/integrity to Christ, myself, and others. What an amazing and powerful gift. “For creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into freedom and glory of the children of God”. Romans 8: 20-21
Integrity protects us from sin and death – If a man walks with Integrity before God and man then he will be a man of virtue, pleasing to God. The bottom line is that being a person of Integrity is foundational to being a person of solid character. If we have a tendency to compromise, we are on a slippery slope. Of course, the enemy is crafty and looks for our vulnerabilities, and as humans we all have weaknesses. That being said, if we desire to be men and women of Integrity, we will seek the Lord and ask that our hearts be pure, and our ways be blameless. We must realize our human depravity and understand we all have blind spots. “For the flesh sets its desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things you please”. Galatians 5:17. The power to walk with true Integrity comes from God through Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith; Jesus became a man and lived with full Integrity, blameless and without sin. Walking in Integrity brings life and protection to every aspect of our lives. “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51:10-12
Christ centered Integrity brings order and begets blessing – True Integrity is also a superpower in life, business and ministry, and leads to tremendous blessing and favor if demonstrated consistently over time. If we place the Lord at the center of our lives and make Him our first and preeminent priority (First Fruit), then every area of our lives will be Integrated in and through Christ and we will live with divine order and blessing. The alternative, which is very common to the ways of this world, is to compartmentalize our lives so that we have all components of life in different silos. This is a very challenging way to live because we are always fretting over how to order our time and priorities, and we generally live in disorder. When we put Christ at the center of our lives and invite Him into every aspect of our lives, then we can live with much more order, which produces harmony, peace, and fulfillment in our lives. “But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all things will be given to you as well”. Matthew 6:33 As we place Christ at the center of our lives (live surrendered lives), we become more Christ-like and begin to produce spiritual fruit in all areas of our lives. Christ at the center means that He is connected to every area of our lives, and He is the source, which brings us back to a key concept I talk about often, living with dependence on God through abiding in Christ. “I am the vine, you are the branches, if you abide in me I will abide in you and you will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing”. John 15:3 I believe this to be the life blood of our walk of faith and living a life of Integrity.
See illustration below from my friend Ken Boa www.kenboa.org of Compartmentalized Life vs. Christ Centered (Integrous) Life:
As followers of Christ living with Integrity, there should be no sacred/secular dichotomy. Our lives should be Integrated in all things. We should be the same person at Church on Sunday, at work on Monday-Friday, on the golf course or at the hunting camp on the weekends, and especially at home with our families. This is the evidence and blessing of Christ at work within us. It all works together (integrated), so that we live in light of eternity and become all that Christ has in store for us to become in Him.
Have a great week!!
-Duane