Things that build integrity

Here are five things that build integrity:

• Consistent obedience to known biblical truth

• Making my private life consistent with my public life  

•  Making a practice of being faithful in little

• Daily looking in the mirror and taking personal responsibility for failures 

• Being humble and learning from mistakes

 

Consistent obedience to known biblical truth

Integrity is not born, it is made by consistent living in obedience. Each act of obedience builds and strengthens the integrity of my life. Every time I obey I build spiritual momentum for the next moment that requires a decision to obey or not. After a while obedience becomes such a practice and way of life that it becomes the norm without thinking about it. Consistently obeying God’s word will strengthen the integrity of the spirit of the person, and fortify them against compromise.

 

Making my private life consistent with my public life

In Greek, the word for “hypocrite” refers to an actor – someone who pretends to be something or someone they are not. Hypocrisy makes it impossible to have integrity. It creates an image in public that requires constant effort and it eventually tires the spirit man and weakens the integrity – the structure and fortification of the soul. This eventually collapses the person into a state of misery. Living a lie is the hardest thing on earth to do! The opposite of being a hypocrite is being sincere. Sincere is a compound word which means “without wax.” It means purity so a sincere act would be one motivated out of purity, (1Cor 13) without regard to self-benefit. An example would be a man sees someone in danger, and rescues the person without ever thinking of himself, that is sincerity. When my private life is concealed from my public life and they appear to be two different lives, then I am not sincere in my relationship with God. It indicates that my life is filled with the wax of self and is hindering the work of Christ from being seen. However, when I live what I profess, my public influence on others will substantially be increased in its impact. When I speak what I am living it will be spoken with a conviction that would not be present if I was living a hypocritical life. Jesus had finished speaking one day and the people said that unlike the Pharisees, he spoke with an authority. One reason for the difference was that this man was sincere – without wax – and when he spoke it came from a place of deep conviction and his words were presented in a way much different than the hypocrites.

I can’t tell you how peaceful it is to live a sincere life. It is a life that wears you out when you have to keep up with the latest lie you told. Insincerity will rob you of sleep, torment your mind, increase fear, and eventually produces a breakdown in body as well as mind.   

A hypocrite lacks conviction about what he truly believes and is totally dependent on the opinions of people. That’s a person you cannot trust. An individual who lives in private what he projects in public is a person living by a standard of convictions. They have a value system Prioritizing is placing things in order in reference to importance. When making decisions it means making decisions based upon what is important to you. What determines this list of importance? Your value (what’s important) system becomes the structure that determines your decisions. Your life, like a house, is built on something, and our life is built on a value system. 

Next Blog I will give the remaining three - stay tuned