Personal Integrity - King Josiah

“Don’t require the construction supervisors to keep account of the money they receive, for they are honest and trustworthy men.”

2 Kings 22:7

PGA golfer Mark Wilson won the praise and admiration of fellow pros and golf enthusiasts around the world when he assessed himself a two-stroke penalty in the second round of the 2007 Honda Classic.

Why the penalty? When competitor Camilo Villegas asked Wilson’s caddy what club he thought Wilson used, the caddie innocently gave his opinion—and that, according to the sometimes perplexing rules of golf, brings a penalty for offering advice to a competitor. Wilson called the penalty on himself, told his caddy not to give it another thought, and went on to dramatically win the tournament in a four-man playoff. Mark Wilson thus embodied what someone once defined as integrity: doing the right thing when no one is watching.

The Bible has much to say about integrity, including some great examples of men who consistently conducted themselves well. Consider, for example, the unnamed men who supervised the restoration of the Temple during King Josiah’s reign.

These trustworthy men were so honest that Josiah ordered the high priest to stop keeping accounts of the money they spent to repair God’s holy Temple. Think about that for a minute. This money came from the Temple of God, and Judah’s king, a godly man, wrote what amounted to a blank check to get the work done.

Why did Josiah place these construction supervisors in a position of trust? Simple—they had already proved themselves faithful. They received the pay due them and also the high honor of repairing and renovating God’s holy Temple.

How do you conduct yourself when no one is watching? Does consistent integrity govern the way you do business at work and everywhere else?

When you demonstrate integrity in everything you say and do, you earn the trust of those in authority over you. You don’t have to advertise integrity or try to get people to notice it. They notice its presence as well as its absence.