February 20
“He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.” Proverbs 10:9
“He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity.” Proverbs 2:7
Warren Buffett, who is considered by some to be the most successful investor of all time and who at the time of this writing is the third wealthiest person in the world, had these things to say about integrity:
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”
“Look for three things in a person: intelligence, energy, and integrity. If they don’t have the last one, don’t even bother with the first two.”
Even unbelievers who lack a relationship with the living God and who don’t believe in a day when every thought and deed will be revealed and judged can see the surpassing value of integrity, just relating to affairs of this world! How much more do Christians and servants of a Holy God need integrity to guard and guide them?
What kinds of character issues constitute a person lacking in integrity? For starters, anything that is illegal or immoral is clearly something that will ruin a person’s integrity. If it is against the law, or if it involves intimate physical contact with someone who is not our spouse, chances are it is something that can ruin our integrity. Saying inappropriate or suggestive things to someone who is not our spouse, flirting, leading people on, looking at others lustfully, spending time with someone privately when our spouse does not know about it, all of these types of things and many more can ruin our reputation. Pornography addiction and other addictions can ruin our reputations and destroy our integrity. Other examples that come to mind are cheating other people in financial dealings (including misrepresenting our income so as to not pay taxes), not paying back money we borrow, stealing things or money from others or our employers, and not being truthful. Being known as a person that is a hot head, overly critical, difficult to get along with, or lazy can also ruin our integrity.
It seems to me that we are at risk of destroying our integrity when there is anything we value more than it. We will discuss some thoughts on how to increase our integrity tomorrow.
Key words: integrity, values, illegal, immorality