INTEGRITY

January 17, 2017

... is moral soundness. I have a steel girder in my office that I look at often. It has a slight imperfection—like someone bumped their head on it—but the massive girder is solid and has been standing for over 25 years.

Spiritual and moral integrity does not mean perfection. That would be unattainable in this life. But it means there are no areas which will cause a collapse.

ABIDING WITH GOD

King David asks the question, ""O LORD, who may abide in Your tent?"" (Psalm 15:1) To abide means to ""remain in a stable or fixed position."" Jesus would later tell us that the key to fruitfulness was such abiding (John 15).

And here was God's answer to David’s question: ""He who walks with integrity and works righteousness"" (Psalm 15:2)

He goes on to describe this moral and spiritual soundness in Psalm 15. Integrity makes a man …

• TRUTHFUL: He speaks truth in his heart
• FORGIVING: He does not slander or do evil to his neighbor nor take up a reproach against his friend. He does not have to seek revenge or justify himself.
• DISCERNING: He despises a reprobate and honors those who fear the Lord.
• FAITHFUL: He swears to his own hurt and does not change. He’s a man of his word.
• UNSELFISH: He is financially faithful and does not put out his money at interest nor take bribes. He has died to personal gain, particularly at others expense.

INTEGRITY IS GAINED

... by attention to detail. By listening to the Lord daily at His gates and responding to what He says.  A man gains integrity by inspecting the interior and exterior structure of his heart and making sure it is sound. Day after day after day. This is not a morbid introspection, but simply walking with Christ daily and letting Him disciple you.

It is aided in its development by transparent honesty. A man who desires integrity will quickly admit his faults and have nothing to hide from trusted friends. He is willing to be accountable and admit when he fails, and repent.

THE STABILITY OF INTEGRITY

""He who does these things will never be shaken,"" David says.

I have often told my sons that a man who has a lack of integrity will always be found out. He always falls. Always. It just takes the right pressure to expose his fatal weakness and his unwillingness to repent in the closets of his life.

Integrity is not perfection, but the soundness that helps a man finish well as a testimony to the faithfulness of God he follows. Christ can make you a man of integrity, if you will draw near—and stay near—to Him.

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