Integrity Check.... Are You For Real?
Several years ago,
in Long Beach, California, a fellow went into a fried chicken place and bought
a couple of chicken dinners for himself and his date late one afternoon. The
young woman at the counter inadvertently gave him the proceeds from the day-a whole
bag of money (much of it cash) instead of fried chicken. After driving to their
picnic site, the two of them sat down to open the meal and enjoy some chicken
together. They discovered a whole lot more than chicken--over $800! But he was
unusual. He quickly put the money back in the bag. They got back into the car
and drove all the way back. Mr. Clean got out, walked in, and became an instant
hero. By then the manager was frantic. The guy with the bag of money looked the
manager in the eye and said, "I want you to know I came by to get a couple
of chicken dinners and wound up with all this money. Here." Well, the
manager was thrilled to death. He said, "Oh, great, let me call the
newspaper. I'm going to have your picture put in the local newspaper. You're the
most honest man I've heard of." To which they guy quickly responded,
"Oh no, no, don't do that!" Then he leaned closer and whispered,
"You see, the woman I'm with is not my wife...she's uh, somebody else's
wife."
We are living in a time and age in which you don’t often find people who are “real”, honest, upright, straightforward or sincere, someone you can just trust completely. Instead we find people who are deceitful, dishonest, corrupt, unfaithful and full of lies. Some people act honest in one way (like we saw in the story), but are completely opposite in other areas of their lives. Some of us behave a certain way at certain places or around certain people and then behave completely different otherwise. Some of us have different identities, we carry different masks and yet claim to be Christians following Christ and his teachings. I have to say that sometimes we have the right intentions and motives, we desire to be real.. but then when we get into a tough spot or undergo pressure, we fail. We say one thing, but do another; believe in something, profess it, but do not act it out.
The world is tired of hypocrites, we are tired of them too and so is Jesus. However sometimes we find ourselves in the same pattern of behavior. Displaying different personalities and behaviors under different circumstances, etc.
God is calling us to be people with integrity. In 1 Kings 9:4, God instructs Solomon to walk with “integrity of heart and uprightness” as his father did. David says in 1 Chronicles 29:17, “I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.” Integrity is very important, we need to very simply be honest, undivided, follow biblical standard of morality/ethical convictions and do the right thing under all circumstances, even if no one is watching you.
The above image helped me to understand where I stand in this matter. I started analyzing my life, does my actions, thoughts, speech, belief and feelings all sync up? Or am I out of sync? I took some time to evaluate and ask the Holy spirit to help me out. I think we all need to take some time and do the same. Its quiet convicting. The Bible says in Job 2:3 - And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason." What a powerful statement God makes here. Can you imagine God telling us the same thing? I mean, don’t you want God to say the same about you and me? Let's strive for integrity, lets be real and make God smile.
Here are some examples that will help you get started.
• Keep your promises to both God and man, even if it takes extra effort.
• Go back and pay for something you forgot to pay for, Inform the cashier he gave you too much change back.
• Never betray a friend’s trust even if you get in trouble.
• Do not gossip or talk bad about someone.
• Remain true to your spouse, friend, parent, pastor, etc. Be faithful
• When in a serious relationship, don’t keep secrets from each other. Be transparent
• Return money that you noticed someone dropped without expecting a reward.
• Ignore someone’s advice on how to cheat the system, your employer, the government, on the exam and how not to get caught.
• Do not let someone else take the blame for something you did. Take responsibility.
• If someone gives you confidential information, never tell anyone what you know
Lets get real!!!
Resources:
Charles Swindoll, Growing Deep
in the Christian Life, p. 159-60.
