“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.”

Whether it’s at home, school, or work, integrity is something that’s learned and developed. We are not born with integrity. Children do come into the world with an inherent sense of right and wrong, but what they do with that depends a great deal on the environment they’re raised in and the modeling they see. I just finished reading an article by a person who described how they learned to do business with integrity by watching the high standards, morality, and discipline of their chief executive. I also had the privilege of reading a book that will be released early next year by a friend who talks about learning some of the most basic principles of success in business by watching those same principles lived out in the life of his former boss. He also writes about those who learned just the opposite from people they worked with who had very little integrity. Ultimately, for the follower of Jesus, integrity is a byproduct of what is modeled in their life and the work of the Holy Spirit. I read a post this morning by the former president of a very large national youth ministry in which he talked about how he handled false accusations, rumors, and gossip that were meant to destroy him. The obvious first response was to shoot back at those people. But after looking to the example of Jesus, he chose the high ground. Handling it with integrity. Dr. Graham once said, “God’s standard is expressed in the Bible, and the ultimate example of that standard is Jesus Christ. When we live by the truth, we possess integrity.” The road to integrity can be painful, but as Solomon tells us, in the end any other choice will destroy us. Sadly, we’ve all seen those who chose the route of duplicity and not only destroyed themselves, but often their families, those closest to them, and even their businesses. Today, practice and model a life of integrity as seen in Jesus. #BeTheEdge

“For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.”
2 Corinthians 8:21 NIV