INTEGRITY

One definition of integrity is: the quality or state of being of sound moral principle; uprightness, honesty, and sincerity.So we can say that a good synonym for integrity is honesty.
"behaviour and decisions which are consistently in line with our principles."For Christian leaders, that integrity would require consistency with biblical principles.

Acting with integrity means

Integrity is keeping a commitment even after circumstances have changed. ~ David Jeremiah

Elements of Integrity Integrity comes from a congruence (an agreement) between thoughts, feelings, words, and actions-when all that you are and do spring from your core values.When what people think, say, promise, and do all coincide, they have integrity.
They have unshakable character. They have our trust and respect. They also have a good reputation because they are reliable and responsible."People who promise things they never give are like clouds and wind that bring no rain." (Prov. 25:14)

One of the important elements of integrity is CONSISTENCY - if we are unpredictable, if our decisions are dependent upon the day of the week, and the way we are feeling, others are unlikely to see us as maintaining integrity. 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. Job 31:4-8 Does not he see my ways and number all my steps? If I have walked with falsehood and my foot has hastened to deceit; (Let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!) if my step has turned aside from the way and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has stuck to my hands, then let me sow, and another eat, and let what grows for me be rooted out.

HOW TO BUILD/WALK in INTEGRITY Integrity is built by defeating the temptation to be dishonest; humility grows when we refuse to be prideful; and endurance develops every time you reject the temptation to give up. ~ Rick Warren. Job 27:1-5 And Job again took up his discourse, and said: As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter, as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils, my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. Far be it from me to say that you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.

Integrity inspires others; it does not demean others. Integrity is about honesty, it does not lie.Tasks become duties to those who embrace integrity. At the workplace, they don't 'put in time,' but cheerfully carry out their responsibilities; they don't engage in destructive gossip, but build confidence, teamwork, and morale; they don't abuse their privileges, but respect their employer's property and reputation. Integrity is the cornerstone of every marriage. The honesty and respect both partners bring to the relationship builds trust, confidence, and love. And when children arrive, they act as role models, displaying how their thoughts, words, and actions remain consistent. And because they keep their promises, their children lack the resentment found in many other homes. BENEFITS OF INTEGRITY

Everlasting establishment:1 Kings 9:4-5 And as for you, if you will walk before

me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, and keeping my statutes and my rules, then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel. (The LORD speaking to Solomon).Psalm 2:20-21 So you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it.
A building without integrity may receive structural damage, or even collapse, in a storm. Similarly, people without integrity are blown about by the winds of misfortune and destroyed by catastrophes, for they lack the firmness, solidity, and strength of character to weather any storm. Dr. William Menninger (1899 ~ 1966) called integrity one of the six essential qualities that are the key to success. (The other five are sincerity, humility, courtesy, wisdom, and charity).

Gods abiding presence: Psalm 41:11-13 By this I know that you delight in me:

my enemy will not shout in triumph over me. But you have upheld me because of my integrity,and set me in your presence forever. Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.

Divine Security/Protection: Proverbs 10:9 Whoever walks in integrity walks

securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.Proverbs 11:3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.Proverbs 20:7, 11 The righteous who walks in his integrity blessed are his children after him! Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.Proverbs 2:6-8 For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.Proverbs 28:18 Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall. MEN OF INTEGRITY 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. Job 2:9 Then his wife said to him, Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die. (Jobs wife mocking Job after great tragedy) Job 31:4-8 Does not he see my ways and number all my steps? If I have walked with falsehood and my foot has hastened to deceit; (Let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!) if my step has turned aside from the way and my heart has gone after my eyes, and if any spot has stuck to my hands, then let me sow, and another eat, and let what grows for me be rooted out. DO WE STILL NEED TO LEAD A LIFE OF INTEGRITY IN THIS PERVERSE AND CORRUPT WORLD? IS IT STILL POSSIBLE TO DO SO? We must be the same person in private and in public. Only the Christian worldview gives us the basis for this kind of integrity. ~ Chuck Colson Titus 2:7-8 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

Integrity
integrity

HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 10:9ESV / 299 helpful votes

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 11:3ESV / 93 helpful votes

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 28:6ESV / 81 helpful votes

Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 12:22ESV / 57 helpful votes

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 19:1ESV / 51 helpful votes

Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 20:7ESV / 38 helpful votes

The righteous who walks in his integrity blessed are his children after him! HelpfulNot Helpful

1 Peter 3:16ESV / 36 helpful votes

Having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. HelpfulNot Helpful

Colossians 3:23ESV / 31 helpful votes

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, HelpfulNot Helpful

Luke 16:10ESV / 27 helpful votes

One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. HelpfulNot Helpful

Titus 2:1-14ESV / 24 helpful votes

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. ... HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 21:3ESV / 23 helpful votes

To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. HelpfulNot Helpful

1 Peter 2:12ESV / 19 helpful votes

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. HelpfulNot Helpful

Hebrews 13:18ESV / 17 helpful votes

Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. HelpfulNot Helpful

Titus 1:7ESV / 16 helpful votes

For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quicktempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, HelpfulNot Helpful

Psalm 41:11-12ESV / 14 helpful votes

By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me. But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever. HelpfulNot Helpful

Romans 9:1ESV / 11 helpful votes

I am speaking the truth in ChristI am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit HelpfulNot Helpful

Daniel 1:8-20ESV / 11 helpful votes

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king. Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. ...

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Luke 6:31ESV / 10 helpful votes

And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 4:25-27ESV / 10 helpful votes

Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. HelpfulNot Helpful

Psalm 24:3-5ESV / 10 helpful votes

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. HelpfulNot Helpful

2 Corinthians 8:21ESV / 9 helpful votes

For we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of man. HelpfulNot Helpful

Psalm 26:1ESV / 9 helpful votes

Of David. Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. HelpfulNot Helpful

Psalm 15:1-5ESV / 9 helpful votes

A Psalm of David. O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; who does not

slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved. HelpfulNot Helpful

1 Timothy 5:8ESV / 8 helpful votes

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. HelpfulNot Helpful

Isaiah 26:7ESV / 8 helpful votes

The path of the righteous is level; you make level the way of the righteous. HelpfulNot Helpful

Exodus 34:7ESV / 8 helpful votes

Keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation. HelpfulNot Helpful

Titus 1:8ESV / 7 helpful votes

But hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. HelpfulNot Helpful

1 Timothy 1:5ESV / 7 helpful votes

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. HelpfulNot Helpful

Philippians 4:8ESV / 7 helpful votes

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. HelpfulNot Helpful

2 Corinthians 5:11ESV / 7 helpful votes

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. HelpfulNot Helpful

Job 27:4-6ESV / 7 helpful votes

My lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit. Far be it from me to say that you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me. I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days. HelpfulNot Helpful

2 Kings 22:7ESV / 7 helpful votes

But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly. HelpfulNot Helpful

Acts 23:1ESV / 6 helpful votes

And looking intently at the council, Paul said, Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day. HelpfulNot Helpful

Isaiah 33:15ESV / 6 helpful votes

He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil, HelpfulNot Helpful

Job 31:1-40ESV / 6 helpful votes

I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? What would be my portion from God above and my heritage from the Almighty on high? Is not calamity for the unrighteous, and disaster for the workers of iniquity? Does not he see my ways and number all my steps? If I have walked with falsehood and my foot has hastened to deceit; ... HelpfulNot Helpful

1 Samuel 24:5ESV / 6 helpful votes

And afterward David's heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul's robe. HelpfulNot Helpful

Genesis 44:7-16ESV / 6 helpful votes

They said to him, Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! Behold, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord's house? Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my lord's servants. He said, Let it be as you say: he who is found with it shall be my servant, and the rest of you shall be innocent. Then each man quickly lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack. ... HelpfulNot Helpful

Genesis 39:8-12ESV / 6 helpful votes

But he refused and said to his master's wife, Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her. But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me. But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. HelpfulNot Helpful

2 Corinthians 4:2ESV / 5 helpful votes

But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. HelpfulNot Helpful

Romans 14:14ESV / 5 helpful votes

I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. HelpfulNot Helpful

Acts 20:35ESV / 5 helpful votes

In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. HelpfulNot Helpful

Acts 8:18-23ESV / 5 helpful votes

Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said to him, May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. ... HelpfulNot Helpful

John 1:47ESV / 5 helpful votes

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit! HelpfulNot Helpful

Zechariah 7:9ESV / 5 helpful votes

Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another,

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Daniel 6:4ESV / 5 helpful votes

Then the presidents and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. HelpfulNot Helpful

Ezekiel 18:7-9ESV / 5 helpful votes

Does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, does not lend at interest or take any profit, withholds his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man, walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfullyhe is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord God. HelpfulNot Helpful

Jeremiah 35:12-17ESV / 5 helpful votes

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the Lord. The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me. I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers. But you did not incline your ear or listen to me. The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me. ... HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 22:11ESV / 5 helpful votes

He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 11:5ESV / 5 helpful votes

The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 2:5ESV / 5 helpful votes

Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 1:3ESV / 5 helpful votes

To receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; HelpfulNot Helpful

Psalm 119:121ESV / 5 helpful votes

I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors. HelpfulNot Helpful

Psalm 73:2-22ESV / 5 helpful votes

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment. ... HelpfulNot Helpful

Psalm 69:4ESV / 5 helpful votes

More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore? HelpfulNot Helpful

Psalm 25:1-22ESV / 5 helpful votes

Of David. To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. ... HelpfulNot Helpful

Psalm 18:20ESV / 5 helpful votes

The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me. HelpfulNot Helpful

Job 29:14ESV / 5 helpful votes

I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban. HelpfulNot Helpful

Job 13:15ESV / 5 helpful votes

Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face. HelpfulNot Helpful

Job 2:3ESV / 5 helpful votes

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. HelpfulNot Helpful

Job 1:1ESV / 5 helpful votes

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. HelpfulNot Helpful

Ezra 8:24-30ESV / 5 helpful votes

Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests: Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their kinsmen with them. And I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the vessels, the offering for the house of our God that the king and his counselors and his lords and all Israel there present had offered. I weighed out into their hand 650 talents of silver, and silver vessels worth 200 talents, and 100 talents of gold, 20 bowls of gold worth 1,000 darics, and two vessels of fine bright bronze as precious as gold. And I said to them, You are holy to the Lord, and the vessels are holy, and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your fathers. ... HelpfulNot Helpful

1 Chronicles 21:6ESV / 5 helpful votes

But he did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, for the king's command was abhorrent to Joab. HelpfulNot Helpful

2 Kings 12:15ESV / 5 helpful votes

And they did not ask an accounting from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to pay out to the workmen, for they dealt honestly. HelpfulNot Helpful

2 Samuel 22:21ESV / 5 helpful votes

The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me. HelpfulNot Helpful

1 Samuel 29:6ESV / 5 helpful votes

Then Achish called David and said to him, As the Lord lives, you have been honest, and to me it seems right that you should march out and in with me in the campaign. For I have found nothing wrong in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, the lords do not approve of you. HelpfulNot Helpful

1 Samuel 25:15ESV / 5 helpful votes

Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. HelpfulNot Helpful

Numbers 16:15ESV / 5 helpful votes

And Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them. HelpfulNot Helpful

Leviticus 19:35-36ESV / 5 helpful votes

You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. HelpfulNot Helpful

Leviticus 19:18ESV / 5 helpful votes

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. HelpfulNot Helpful

Exodus 1:17-21ESV / 5 helpful votes

But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, Why have you done this, and let the male children live? The midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them. So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. HelpfulNot Helpful

Genesis 43:15-22ESV / 5 helpful votes

So the men took this present, and they took double the money with them, and Benjamin. They arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon. The man did as Joseph told him and brought the men to Joseph's house. And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house, and they said, It is because of the money, which was replaced in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may assault us and fall upon us to make us servants and seize our donkeys. So they went up to the steward of Joseph's house and spoke with him at the door of the house, ... HelpfulNot Helpful

Genesis 40:15ESV / 5 helpful votes

For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit. HelpfulNot Helpful

Genesis 31:39ESV / 5 helpful votes

What was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you. I bore the loss of it myself. From my hand you required it, whether stolen by day or stolen by night. HelpfulNot Helpful

Genesis 26:9-11ESV / 5 helpful votes

So Abimelech called Isaac and said, Behold, she is your wife. How then could you say, She is my sister? Isaac said to him, Because I thought, Lest I die because of her. Abimelech said, What is this you have done to us? One of the people might easily have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us. So Abimelech warned all the people, saying, Whoever touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. HelpfulNot Helpful

Genesis 18:19ESV / 5 helpful votes

For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him. HelpfulNot Helpful

Hebrews 13:7ESV / 4 helpful votes

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. HelpfulNot Helpful

1 Timothy 3:9ESV / 4 helpful votes

They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. HelpfulNot Helpful

1 Thessalonians 2:4ESV / 4 helpful votes

But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. HelpfulNot Helpful

Philippians 2:13ESV / 4 helpful votes

For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. HelpfulNot Helpful

Ephesians 6:6ESV / 4 helpful votes

Not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, HelpfulNot Helpful

Ephesians 6:4ESV / 4 helpful votes

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. HelpfulNot Helpful

2 Corinthians 7:2ESV / 4 helpful votes

Make room in your hearts for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. HelpfulNot Helpful

Romans 14:22ESV / 4 helpful votes

The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. HelpfulNot Helpful

Romans 14:5ESV / 4 helpful votes

One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. HelpfulNot Helpful

Romans 13:5ESV / 4 helpful votes

Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. HelpfulNot Helpful

Romans 13:1ESV / 4 helpful votes

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. HelpfulNot Helpful

Acts 24:16ESV / 4 helpful votes

So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. HelpfulNot Helpful

Acts 14:12-15ESV / 4 helpful votes

Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. HelpfulNot Helpful

Luke 23:51ESV / 4 helpful votes

Who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. HelpfulNot Helpful

Luke 23:50ESV / 4 helpful votes

Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, HelpfulNot Helpful

Luke 21:1-4ESV / 4 helpful votes

Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on. HelpfulNot Helpful

Luke 19:8ESV / 4 helpful votes

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold. HelpfulNot Helpful

Luke 12:33ESV / 4 helpful votes

Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. HelpfulNot Helpful

Luke 11:42ESV / 4 helpful votes

But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. HelpfulNot Helpful

Luke 3:14ESV / 4 helpful votes

Soldiers also asked him, And we, what shall we do? And he said to them, Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages. HelpfulNot Helpful

Luke 3:13ESV / 4 helpful votes

And he said to them, Collect no more than you are authorized to do. HelpfulNot Helpful

Matthew 1:19ESV / 4 helpful votes

And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. HelpfulNot Helpful

Malachi 2:6ESV / 4 helpful votes

True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. HelpfulNot Helpful

Micah 6:8ESV / 4 helpful votes

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? HelpfulNot Helpful

Ezekiel 18:5ESV / 4 helpful votes

If a man is righteous and does what is just and right HelpfulNot Helpful

Jeremiah 7:7ESV / 4 helpful votes

Then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever. HelpfulNot Helpful

Jeremiah 7:5ESV / 4 helpful votes

For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, HelpfulNot Helpful

Isaiah 56:1ESV / 4 helpful votes

Thus says the Lord: Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 28:20ESV / 4 helpful votes

A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 21:15ESV / 4 helpful votes

When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 16:11ESV / 4 helpful votes

A just balance and scales are the Lord's; all the weights in the bag are his work. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 15:21ESV / 4 helpful votes

Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense, but a man of understanding walks straight ahead. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 14:30ESV / 4 helpful votes

A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 3:4ESV / 4 helpful votes

So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 3:3ESV / 4 helpful votes

Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 2:9ESV / 4 helpful votes

Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; HelpfulNot Helpful

Psalm 26:2-3ESV / 4 helpful votes

Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.

HelpfulNot Helpful

Psalm 26:1-3ESV / 4 helpful votes

Of David. Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind. For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness. HelpfulNot Helpful

Psalm 25:21ESV / 4 helpful votes

May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you. HelpfulNot Helpful

Psalm 17:3ESV / 4 helpful votes

You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. HelpfulNot Helpful

Psalm 7:3-5ESV / 4 helpful votes

O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands, if I have repaid my friend with evil or plundered my enemy without cause, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it, and let him trample my life to the ground and lay my glory in the dust. Selah HelpfulNot Helpful

Job 16:17ESV / 4 helpful votes

Although there is no violence in my hands, and my prayer is pure. HelpfulNot Helpful

Job 13:18ESV / 4 helpful votes

Behold, I have prepared my case; I know that I shall be in the right. HelpfulNot Helpful

Job 10:7ESV / 4 helpful votes

Although you know that I am not guilty, and there is none to deliver out of your hand? HelpfulNot Helpful

Job 2:9ESV / 4 helpful votes

Then his wife said to him, Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die. HelpfulNot Helpful

Nehemiah 5:14-19ESV / 4 helpful votes

Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God. I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people. ... HelpfulNot Helpful

1 Samuel 29:9ESV / 4 helpful votes

And Achish answered David and said, I know that you are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the commanders of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle. HelpfulNot Helpful

Deuteronomy 15:7-11ESV / 4 helpful votes

If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, The seventh year, the year of release is near, and your eye look grudgingly on your poor

brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land. HelpfulNot Helpful

Exodus 18:21ESV / 4 helpful votes

Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. HelpfulNot Helpful

Genesis 12:18ESV / 4 helpful votes

So Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? HelpfulNot Helpful

James 4:17ESV / 3 helpful votes

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. HelpfulNot Helpful

James 1:22-25ESV / 3 helpful votes

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. HelpfulNot Helpful

Colossians 3:22ESV / 3 helpful votes

Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

HelpfulNot Helpful

John 1:1-51ESV / 3 helpful votes

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. ... HelpfulNot Helpful

Isaiah 33:16ESV / 3 helpful votes

He will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him; his water will be sure. HelpfulNot Helpful

Proverbs 2:2ESV / 3 helpful votes

Making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; HelpfulNot Helpful

Psalm 7:8ESV / 3 helpful votes

The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me. HelpfulNot Helpful

1 Samuel 12:4ESV / 3 helpful votes

They said, You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man's hand.

Nehemiah 7:2 NIV I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do.
Example of a Man of Integrity Bible Verse

Job 2:3 NIV Then the LORD said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason. Proverbs 10:9 NIV Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.

Psalm 41:12 NIV Because of my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.
Verse on Integrity

Matthew 22:16 NIV They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. Teacher, they said, we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You arent swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are.
Bible Verse on Integrity of Jesus

2 Corinthians 1:12 NIV Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on Gods grace.
Bible Verse on Integrity and Sincerity

Mark 12:14 NIV They came to him and said, Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You arent swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?
Bible Verse about Jesus integrity

Isaiah 45:23 NIV By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.
Integrity Bible Verse

Titus 2:7 NIV In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness
Bible Verse Show Integrity

Luke 16:10 Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. Phillipians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them" Proverbs 16:3 Proverbs 10:9 The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.

1 Chronicles 29:17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity ...(NIV)

The Integrity of Samuel

In light of this research, Israels high regard for Samuel comes as no surprise. Samuel was a man who exuded integrity. Nowhere is this best illustrated than in 1 Samuel 12:1-4: Samuel said to all Israel, I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you. Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right. You have not cheated or oppressed us, they replied. You have not taken anything from anyones hand. During his farewell speech, after having led Israel for decades, Samuel promised to repay anything he had unjustly taken from anyone. What a promise! Even more impressive was the peoples response. Not one person rose up to make a claim against Samuel. Samuels honesty and personal integrity permeated every area of his life. These two characteristics directed how he regarded his possessions, his business dealings and his treatment of those who were weaker than himself. Samuel held himself accountable to the people he led. He opened himself up to the scrutiny of everyone with whom he had ever had dealings. As a result of this practice, Samuels leadership has become legendary as this story has been told and retold throughout the centuries. People want to know that their leader can be trusted. They want to know that leaders will keep promises and follow through on commitments. Promises and commitments are significant, though, in our day of Machiavellian ethics, it seems that they have become optional. We often seem more concerned with convenience and performance. We give lip-service to the importance of character, but we have the idea that when things get tough, the rules can be changed and commitments and covenants may be discarded at will. But the Bible makes clear just how important our covenants are. Throughout the Scriptures, God focuses on the fact that he is a God who makes and keeps his covenants, that he can be trusted (1 Chronicles 16:15; Psalm 105:8). God can be trusted because he is trustworthy. Thats the point: it always comes down to the issue of character, not just words. Biblical integrity is not just doing the right thing; its a matter of having the right heart and allowing the person you are on the inside to match the person you are on the outside. This is how God is. This is how his people should be. Perhaps a good word to think of is consistency. There must be consistency between what is inside and what is outside. God is totally consistent. His actions and behaviors always match his character and nature. And his goal for us is nothing less. Christs objective for his disciples is to

make us disciplined people. In the words of John Ortberg, Disciplined people can do the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reason. Just like God.

The God Who Never Changes

Is there anyone we can trust? People let us down again and again, because there is often a discrepancy between what they claim to believe and how they actually live. But God will never let us down, because he never changes. His promises are as good as his unchanging character: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus does not change. The Living God does not change. His love, his truth and his goodness are not governed by external circumstances or conditions they never vacillate. Therefore, Gods character and the promises he makes are supremely worthy of our trust and commitment. He does what he says, and his covenant love is always dependable. This is fundamental. What can I lean against? What can I trust in? What can I pursue with reckless abandon? So many of us have been burned by relationships, by people going back on their word, claiming that they said something when they did not say it. It can make you cynical if youre not careful. But when we come back to the character of God, we realize, He is the unchanging standard. Because it is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2), he is the ultimately reliable source of hope. His changeless character is the foundation of all of his promises. Whatever he says he will do is as good as done, and when we hope in his promises, this hope becomes an anchor for the soul, both firm and secure (Hebrews 6:19). Unlike many parents, Gods yes is always yes, and his no is always no (James 5:12). When God says yes, it stays yes; when he says no, it stays no. This has both negative and positive ramifications. Negatively, there is no getting God to change his mind through bribery or whining. Positively, when God makes a promise, he can be counted on to fulfill that word. The sting remains of broken promises from parents ballgames missed, trips never taken. The writer of Proverbs accurately diagnoses much of our present malaise when he says, Hope deferred makes the heart sick (Proverbs 13:12a). Much of the heartache we experience is directly related to the unreliability of people. But Gods actions flow perfectly out of his character: He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind (1 Samuel 15:29). There is no possibility of manipulating or bribing or bargaining with God, because he will never compromise his perfect integrity. God himself has testified, I the Lord do not change (Malachi 3:6). Gods perfect and constant character allows us to trust in his promises and timing. God is integrity. He does not merely act with integrity; integrity is his character. But what about us? The biblical virtue of integrity points to a consistency between what is inside and what is outside, between belief and behavior, our words and our ways, our attitudes and our actions, our values and our practice.

The Dis-integration of Isaiah

When the prophet Isaiah had a vision of the glorious and awesome Creator of the universe, he was overwhelmed by the holiness of God. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two the covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory. At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. Woe to me! I cried. I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty. Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, See this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for. Isaiah 6:1-7 R.C. Sproul comments on Isaiahs encounter with the holiness of God: To be undone means to come apart at the seams, to be unraveled. What Isaiah was expressing is what modern psychologists describe as the experience of personal disintegration. To disintegrate means exactly what the word suggests, dis integrate. To integrate something is to put pieces together in a unified whole. The word integrity[suggests] a person whose life is whole or wholesome. In modern slang we say, Hes got it all together.2 Isaiah says, Im undone. Im torn apart, which is just the opposite of integrity. To have integrity is to be integrated, to be whole, to have it all together in a sense, to be consistent. Isaiah finds himself torn apart, and this forces him to realize his own deficiency. When faced with the awesome holiness of God, Isaiah becomes aware of his own uncleanness. Throughout the Bible, mans encounters with God are very consistent in this way. For example, when Peter realizes the power of Jesus he falls to his knees and says, Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man! (Luke 5:8) Peter knows that what has just happened is not natural; it is, in fact, supernatural. This is not the way things work, but instead of saying, How did he do that? he says, Depart from me, Im a sinful man. Peter is not only aware of Jesus power, but of holiness and his own sinfulness. An encounter with holiness is traumatic. The holiness of God becomes a standard to which we can never measure up, and this is traumatic for people who so desperately want to fool themselves into thinking they are self-sufficient.

In John 18, a cohort of 600 armed soldiers comes to arrest Jesus and have their own traumatic encounter with holiness: Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, Who is it you want? Jesus of Nazareth, they replied. I am he, Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground. John 18:4-6 Six hundred soldiers fall to the ground, and the word that is used implies that they were sort of held there, pinned to the ground. There are many speculations as to what exactly happened, but it appears as if the veil of his flesh lifted, and that pre-incarnate glory that he had before the foundation of the world was opened up for a microsecond. It was sufficient to overwhelm them. R. Kent Hughes, in his commentary Behold the Man suggests: Jesus answer was one of his last uses of the power by which he calmed the seas, stilled the winds, and healed the sick. The cohort didnt arrest Jesus he arrested them. His words were a gracious warning that they were in over their heads.3 They must have known something wasnt quite right. Six hundred armed men are now more afraid than the one they came looking for. Throughout the Bible, men discover just how traumatic an encounter with holiness is. The transfiguration scared Peter so much he didnt know what to say (Mark 9:6). John, on the isle of Patmos, sees Jesus and is so overwhelmed he fell at his feet as though dead (Revelation 1:17). This is the same John who had leaned on Jesus in the upper room (John 13:25). John would often sit next to Jesus. There was an intimate bond between them. But when he saw that holiness, he was overwhelmed. The conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:4), Moses reaction to the burning bush (Exodus 3:6), Joshuas interaction with the commander of the army of the Lord (Joshua 5:14), Jacobs response after his dream at Bethel (Genesis 28:17), Gideon realizing hes been interacting with the angel of the Lord (Judges 6:22). The list goes on and on of people who are absolutely terrified and overwhelmed by the awe-inspiring holiness of God. Gods holiness is truly awesome, and our natural reaction to him is one of fear. But there is another side of his nature, his closeness to us, that somehow allows us to have this relationship with him. Jesus, the mediator between God and man, makes it possible for us to avoid being consumed by his awesome holiness, and instead to be declared righteous. That is amazing. The Living God is willing to say that you are righteous. How is that possible? Its because Christ himself is in us. When we live our entire lives before the face of God (coremdeo) and practice a constant abiding in his presence, we realize that being people who do not manifest integrity is inconsistent with the dignity and destiny weve been called to. We have been called to live on a higher plane than that, to live a life worthy of the calling [we] have received (Ephesians 4:1), because, now,

Christ is in us. He wants to live his life through us (Galatians 2:20); we are not only his representatives (2 Corinthians 5:20), as members of his church we are, in some mysterious way, his body (Ephesians 1:23; Colossians 1:24). Now, thats impossible unless he dwells in us, but therein lies the solution. In fact, this is the genius of the Christian life. Christianity is not a religion; its a relationship. Christianity is not about rules and regulations. Instead, it is the presence and power of a person who indwells us and promises to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). As fallen men and women, we realize how disintegrated we are when we come face to face with Gods perfect integration. And, like Isaiah, it forces us to recognize our deep need for personal reconstruction. Isaiah realized the depth of his own sin in the process of catching a glimpse of Gods perfect holiness, and he acknowledged those areas in which he had turned from his commitments as a priest and a prophet. But his commitment and his life as a faithful prophet demonstrate for us the possibility of framing a life of integrity with Gods help.

The Hypocrisy of the Pharisees

If we fail to face up to our inadequacy, we fall into the trap of the Pharisees: hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is the opposite of integrity, and this is precisely what Jesus accuses the Pharisees and teachers of the law of in Matthew 23. Six times in this sermon, he uses the stinging word hypocrites (vv. 13, 15, 23, 24, 27, 29). Originally, a hypocrite meant an actor who put on a mask to assume a false identity while he played for the audience. This accusation would be particularly offensive to the Pharisees who hated all forms of Hellenization, including the Greek theatre. In essence, Jesus was calling them the very thing they hated. Anyone who has ever labored under the false notion that Jesus was some kind of quiet, nice man will have trouble with these verses: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead mens bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? Matthew 23:15, 27-28, 33 This is not, to use Philip Yanceys expression, Mr. Rogers with a beard! Jesus language reveals the depth of his righteous anger. Notice that each verse that includes the word hypocrite begins with the words: Woe to you. This word woe (ouai) can contain pathos, anger, warning and derision; and may include all of these at the same time. In this passage, Jesus lambasted the Pharisees for saying one thing and doing another. Their lack of integrity was not

only substandard for those who would follow Christ, as religious leaders they were guilty of misrepresenting God the Father. We have already discovered that integrity the direct opposite quality of hypocrisy is the quality that people want most in a leader. Clearly, the Pharisees and teachers of the law in Jesus day failed to live up to that standard. When we talk about integrity today, we generally use other, closely related terms such as ethics and morality. But a clear understanding of the concept of integrity requires clear thinking about all three words. Each has a distinct meaning. When properly used, they bring clarity to a crucial but often misunderstood leadership essential:

Ethics refers to a standard of right and wrong, good and evil. Its what the Pharisees said they believed was right. Morality is a lived standard of right and wrong, good and evil. Its what the Pharisees actually did. Integrity means sound, complete, integrated. To the extent that a persons ethics and morality are integrated, that person has integrity. To the extent that a persons ethics and morality are not integrated, that person lacks integrity.

Lets look at this another way. If your friend John tells you he will lie, cheat and steal, he has a low ethic. If he does business that way, he also has a low morality. John is unethical and immoral, but he has integrity twisted as it may be because the morality is consistent with the ethic. If John claims to cheat and steal but doesnt cheat and steal, he is moral in practice but lacks integrity, because his morality doesnt match his ethic. You can have a high or low ethic. You can be moral or immoral. The choice is yours. But if you want to have integrity, you must choose your ethic and live to match it. Anyone who wants to lead at least owes it to prospective followers to let them know what they are getting into. The Bible teaches a high and holy ethic. A person who claims to be a Christian and to live by biblical standards makes an ethical statement. He or she has committed to a certain morality. For that person to have integrity, then, he or she must live by the biblical ethic. Jesus makes it unequivocally clear that the worst choice is the hypocritical one. This is serious business. When we find our walk not matching our talk, the probing question of Jesus should echo in our hearts: Why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? (Luke 6:46). If we imagine the holy eyes of Jesus Christ, Lord of the universe, as he asks this question, we ought to be at least a little frightened.

The Process of Integration

Its self-evident that a hypocrite is unqualified to guide others toward attaining higher character. No one respects a person who talks a good game but fails to play by the rules. What a leader does will have a greater impact on those he or she wishes to lead than what a leader says. A person may forget 90 percent of what a leader says, but he or she will never forget how the leader lives. This is why Paul tells Timothy:

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. 1 Timothy 4:15-16 In this life, we never attain perfection. But there should be progress toward the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We will never attain it this side of eternity, but the there should be visible progress, evident to others. Notice the two things Paul exhorts Timothy to watch: your life and your doctrine. In other words, give careful attention to your behavior and your belief. Make sure they match. Constantly examine yourself to see whether or not your walk matches your talk. Bill Hendricks encountered an illustration of this principle in the go-go days of the real estate market of the 1980s. He met a developer who claimed to have woven what he called biblical principles of business into his deals. But when the market went south, he skipped town and left his investors to pick up the pieces and the debts. Another of Bills friends stands in sharp contrast to the first. He too was a land developer. He too talked of integrating biblical principles into his business. And when the market crashed, so did his empire. But unlike the man who ran away, this land developer, as a matter of conscience, worked out a plan to pay back his investors.4 Money tends to bring out whats really inside, doesnt it? When it comes to financial matters, you really discover what a man is made of. Which of those two men would you rather follow? Which one demonstrated integrity? David writes about the man who keeps his oath even when it hurts (Psalm 15:4b). He is the man who will never be shaken (v. 5b). There is simply no substitute for a man or woman of consistent Christ-like character. That doesnt imply that any of us will be perfect. In fact, the New Testament doesnt call for perfect leaders; it calls for those who are models of progress in their faith. We will all stumble in many ways, but our desire is to see progress toward the integration of our claims and our practice.

Secrecy and Small Things

The best way to discern whether or not we are making progress is to ask ourselves, How do I live when no ones looking? Its easy to look like a person of integrity when people are watching, but do I live my private life with the same level of consistency as I live my public life? So much of our lives are consumed with what might be called image maintenance. We spend vast amounts of energy trying to get people to think about us the way we want to be thought about. John Ortberg suggests, Human conversation is largely an endless attempt to convince others that we are more assertive or clever or gentle or successful than they might think if we did not carefully educate them.5 Jesus words in Matthew 6:1 are hard to get around: Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

Its possible to live one life publicly and another life privately. Thats not integrity; its an invitation for Gods discipline. We are to live with consistency in public and in private, because our Father sees what is done in secret (Matthew 6:4). Since this is the case, being faithful in small, secret things is a big deal. It may be the case that God is far less concerned with your public persona than he is in your private character. He may be more concerned with how you manage your personal checking account than how well you administer the books on a big business deal. Its in the small, secret places of self-evaluation that Gods grace changes you and shapes you into the image of his Son. In the end, we become what our desires make us. Who we become reveals what we really desire. If you desire the praise of men, then you will become a certain kind of person. But if you desire the praise of God, then integrity will need to become a priority. As you sense the overwhelming holiness of our Creator, you will understand how unraveled you are. But as you focus on the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you will recognize that even though you may feel undone, you are not undone because he has made you whole. His grace is sufficient, for his power is made perfect in your weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

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