INTEGRITY may
seem to be rare these days, but here are four ways to notice it in others as we
nurture it in ourselves.
Show Consistency
If there’s one
thing we can trust it is consistency. Even a poor standard, consistently
applied, can be trusted — it is reliable. But in terms of integrity, there is
something charming in a regal sense in someone who is so faithful they will not
bend their standards. My wife is one of these sorts of people. (I’m much more
flexible.) Flexibility is at its worst when we can be ‘talked around’ too
easily. Sometimes we just need to know when things are non-negotiable. Yet, we
also show most integrity when our consistency is prepared to make way for the
exceptional exception.
Speak Truthfully
This is the
hardest thing to do. As a Christian I can’t help but be aware of the instances
and the amount of untruth I am willing to engage in. Whether it is that I don’t
have the courage to challenge others’ lies, especially friends and those I don’t
want to hurt, or I don’t have the humility to challenge my own pride on occasion,
is beside the point. A huge part of wisdom and maturity is being able to attend
faithfully to the truth, no matter the cost. The truth costs. What costs hurts.
We need to be willing to bear the burden of such cost if we are to be known for
our integrity.
Act Rightly
Justice and
acting rightly (righteousness) are inherently linked. We decry all the
injustices of our culture (sending back ‘the boats’, abuse of children in immigration
detention centres, etc), but we are less interested in acting rightly in the
midst of our own lives. This is especially the case when we are in a hurry.
That is when we are tempted to cut corners and do the wrong thing. The most
blessed of all of us is the person who sees when they don’t act rightly as
impetus for acting rightly more often — a faith worthy to such a high regard of
the kingly standard: repentance.
Accept Responsibility
The diligent do
this; they take responsibility for everything they did, ever do, could have
done better, and did not do that they should have. They may also be prepared to
take responsibility for that portion of the account that is in dispute. And God
will sanctify them every skerrick of the way. Those who accept responsibility
believe more ardently in reconciliation than they do in a justifiable
recrimination. They understand that reconciliation starts in one person’s heart
and it is possible in all situations with God. In essence, the responsible
person has the humility to be wrong, to be sorry, to forgive, and to notice the
problem is often in them well before it is in the rest of the world.
Overall, Then
The words of
Psalm 15 come immediately to mind when I contemplate integrity. Those on a
journey of integrity will gain much wisdom in reflecting on this short psalm.
To show
consistency, speak truthfully, act rightly, and accept responsibility is to
bear a dear cost. Integrity costs. Morality is a constant burden. But if we are
God-faithful, we will find ourselves willing to pay that cost more and more
often.
When we notice
integrity in others we ought to commend them through encouragement. When we
nurture integrity in ourselves we earn others’ genuine affirmation.
© 2015 Steve
Wickham.
Credit to Tim
Healy and Riverview Church, Perth, Western Australia, for the structure used by
me, here, is theirs. Credit also for their image, which I have used.
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