Integrity.

How often have I written in a character reference for someone, that the person involved is someone of "integrity".  I knew what I meant when I used that word, and I assumed that the prospective employer would understand also.  However, if I had been asked to provide a full definition of the word, I would have been reaching for my dictionary - and discovering that, although the connection may be obvious, it only appears as a derivative from 'integer'! 

So I was delighted to receive the following in my e-mail Inbox today.  It came from Tyndale House Publishers, who regularly main a Leadership Devotional.  I commend it to everyone as an excellent summary of what integrity really is - particularly as it applies to those of us who claim to be disciples of Jesus!

"People with integritywalk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall."  Proverbs 10:9

 Integrity is a high standard of living based on a personal code of morality that doesn't succumb to the whim of the moment or the dictates of the majority. Integrity is to personal character what health is to the body or 20/20 vision is to the eyes. People of integrity are whole; their lives are put together. People with integrity have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. Their lives are open books. They say to a watching world, "Go ahead and look. My behavior will match my beliefs. My walk will match my talk. My character will match my confession."

Integrity is not reputation--what others think of us. It is not success--what we have accomplished. Integrity embodies the sum total of our being and our actions. It originates in who we are as believers in Jesus Christ--accepted, valued, capable, and forgiven--but it expresses itself in the way we live and behave, no matter whether we are in church on Sunday or at work on Monday or in a lonely hotel room on Tuesday or suffering in a hospital bed on Thursday.

Unfortunately, integrity is in short supply and seems to be diminishing everyday. All too frequently our integrity is discarded upon the altar of fame or fortune. Sadly, what we want to achieve is more important than what we are to be. Integrity is lost when we focus on expedience more than excellence, on progress more than purity, on riches more than righteousness.

People are watching. They watch to see if our behavior matches our belief, if our walk matches our talk, and if our character matches our confession. In a word, they watch to see if we have integrity.

How secure is your walk? Others are watching.