A Life of Integrity

When was the last time you shocked someone by doing the right thing?  While shopping at HEB, I've been known to walk out of the store, get to my car and realize I have an unpaid item still lurking in the far corner of my cart.  I grumble to myself and make my way back to the cashier with the item.  Often, I get a response like "Thank you so much!  You are so kind to bring it back!"  Perhaps you, too, have experienced first-hand how people are shocked by you doing the right thing.

Isn't it sad that we live in a world where people are more shocked by people demonstrating integrity than the lack of it?  Every day, we are confronted in the news of people who have done the wrong thing.  Maybe it's a professional athlete that you look up to.  Perhaps, it's a politician that you had supported. A businessmen caught cheating on his customers.  Even Christian leaders have been found embezzling, visiting with prostitutes, or taking drugs.  No longer are we surprised by such actions.

It's very easy for us to "cast stones" at those who make obvious wrong choices.  We are quick to judge their actions.  We do it without a thought.  In fact, probably in the last few months, most of us have had an opinion of a certain sports figure located in College Station.  It's easy to judge.  But, how easy is it for you and me to be a person of integrity?

Practicing integrity means that your behavior matches your beliefs.  (Craig Groeschel, Altar Ego) Integrity is defined as a state of being whole.  Undivided.  Complete.  Synonyms of integrity are honesty and unity.  Every day, we are given a choice to live, act and speak with integrity.  In our social circumstances, for example, we often present ourselves in the best possible light, so as to appear how others want us to be.  That, my friend, is a mask.  It's not who you really are, but who you're pretending to be.  Far from integrity.

If people who know you were asked to describe you with 5 different qualities, would integrity be one of them?  Wouldn't it be wonderful to be known as a man or woman of integrity?  Stop the white lies.  No more cheating.  Be honest with your spouse.  Demonstrate integrity in your work life. Don't exaggerate your stories. No lying on the resume.  Make a difference by living a life of integrity.

"Integrity doesn't come in degrees: low, medium, or high.  You either have integrity or you don't."  Tony Dungy

"May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you."  Psalm 25:21

Nancy Abbott is Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.