Integrity: December 14, 2011

INTEGRITY

DEFINITION:

Uncompromising adherence to moral principles; honesty.

SCRIPTURE:

Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. Psalm 15:1-2.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Integrity does not seem to be a concern among most people today. We were taught as children and teenagers that integrity was one of the most important, if not the most important, trait a person should have. We taught our children the same thing. But in this so called “ME” generation integrity is a “lost art.”

We live in a sinful world whose standards and morals are rapidly disintegrating. Our standards of living must not be based on those of our evil and sick society.

In this 15th chapter of Psalms (above), King David describes the life of integrity that believers are to cultivate. In the five verses of this Psalm we are given guidelines for living a life of integrity:

• Walk uprightly so that you are blameless.
• Do what is right.
• Speak the truth and be honest.
• Do not speak evil of others.
• Treat your neighbor kindly.
• Be accountable for your actions.
• Honor those that love the Lord.
• Do not be greedy for money.
God wants us to daily increase the pursuit of truthfulness, righteousness and honesty.

We are to formulate our beliefs as believers on the basis of scripture. The foundational truths that we are to build our lives on are to begin with, our need for a Savior, our helplessness to save ourselves, Christ’s death on the cross on our behalf, salvation by faith alone, and God’s free gift of eternal life. We must align our actions, our words and thinking with the Bible and never compromise.

We are to submit to Jesus Christ as our Lord. In Mark 8:34, Jesus commands us to deny ourselves and follow Him. Wholehearted commitment to Jesus will give us all we need to stand against temptations that we may face. We as believers must choose righteousness for this to become a reality in our lives.

We should build relationships with individuals who value godly living and not individuals that care only about the things of the world. The influence of mature Christians strengthens us in our dedication and obedience to the Lord. When you build these relationships and then spend any time with those who thrive on worldly pleasures, you will feel very uncomfortable.

Everyone misses the mark at times and makes mistakes. As believers we are to confess any known sin to God and turn away from bad behavior. (I John 1:9)

When we learn these principles that we have outlined above and practice them daily, we will be living a life of integrity.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Proverbs 20:11.

Even a child is known by his deeds, whether what he does is pure and right.

PRAYER:

Help our family to recognize that we live in a culture that approves of ungodly values and behaviors. May Your Holy Spirit open our eyes and help us today to recognize right from wrong so that we may live a life of integrity giving all glory to You.