Integrity

Have you ever been in a situation that forced you to make a difficult choice—one that threatened to compromise your values? We can all say that we have been in such a circumstance—probably many times. Sometimes we make the choice that upholds our principles, and at other times we buckle to the pressures and fall short. Whenever we are faced with these temptations we learn a little bit more about how much integrity we possess.

David writes in Psalms 26:1: “Vindicate me, O LORD, For I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the LORD; I shall not slip.” We see the integrity of David through accounts from God’s Word: he upheld his faith in God despite the threat of the giant named Goliath (I Samuel 17:37), he extended kindness to Jonathan’s son when others may not have (II Samuel 9), and he was even called a man after God’s own heart (I Samuel 13:14). In spite of this, we often remember David for a moment where he compromised his integrity.

David sinned in taking Bathsheba, who was already married to a soldier named Uriah (II Samuel 11). David continued to comprise his values after committing this sin and ultimately had Uriah killed. And while we note this as a time of great failure in David’s spiritual life, we also note the great integrity demonstrated by Uriah during this incident. When David attempted to cover up his sin, Uriah refused to disrespect the men who were serving in battle. When David sent a letter with instructions for killing Uriah, David recognized the integrity of this man enough that he sent the letter by Uriah’s own hand. Integrity is so very much tied to our reputation—temporary lapses of judgment can have a very long term impact on the value of our name.

Proverbs 20:7 reads “The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.” Integrity is obtained by first studying God’s Word so that we understand the right way to walk in this life, and then making a commitment to always walk in this manner. There will be times when we will not withstand the forces of temptation pressing upon us, and our integrity will begin to crumble just like a poorly constructed building. When this happens the Word of God can build us back up: “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32) Let us consider the importance of having integrity in our spiritual walks, and learn from the words found in Titus 2:6-8: “Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded, in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.”