Integrity

The man [or woman] of integrity walks securely,but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.

Proverbs 10:9 (NIV)

When was the last time you heard a discussion about integrity? Here’s a good definition: integrity is doing the right thing even if nobody is watching.

W. Clement Stone said, “Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.” Well said, Clement.

Abraham Lincoln is well known for many things, but there is one word that is always linked to his name: Honest Abe. As a young man, he worked in a store and found he had overcharged someone a few cents, so he walked miles to return it. As a lawyer, he defended the weak against swindlers, taking little for fees. It’s no wonder that as he saw the wrongness of slavery, he paid a great price to make it right.

In Matthew 6 Jesus talked about integrity—not just before man, but before God. He said that when you do a good deed, you should do it before God alone. About prayer, don’t pray so that people will see you do it but pray to your Father who is in the secret place; then your Father will reward you openly.

Integrity. As I look at this amazing, almost extinct character trait, I know I fall short, but I also know I want it! Don’t you?

Make It Personal . . . Live It Out!

Again, “[a woman] of integrity walks securely.” This means that if we purpose in our hearts to do the right thing, we will never have to cover our tracks. There will be moments when being a woman of integrity is tough. It is easier to tell a little lie or take a little shortcut—or so it seems. But when we are tempted, that is when we can shoot up a short arrow prayer: “Lord, give me grace to do right.” Maybe you have never thought of that. You have thought you could only pray in formal “prayer times.” Trust me, arrow prayers have been my saving grace many times. And if you get in the habit, they will be yours, too.

One Year Bible Reading

Leviticus 11:1–12:8; Mark 5:21-43; Psalm 38:1-22; Proverbs 10:8-9