Integrity

Issues – September 2017 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Integrity

Each Christian should have the reputation for being a man or woman of integrity, but the topic itself is rarely taught. We regularly find in the news the terrible consequences of the failure of the integrity of respected people. In the Old Testament, “integrity” comes from the Hebrew word tumoh . The English word means “a refusal to lie, steal, or deceive in any way. The word implies trustworthiness ... to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a trust, responsibility or pledge.”

1

Integrity Can Be Maintained Even Under Extreme Conditions
The classic example of a godly person who “remained firm in his integrity” is Job. All Job had to do to escape from the terrible suffering Satan was smiting him with was “curse God” (Job 1:1-12, 2:3-10 JND). However, Job did not do so.

Satan tested our Lord Jesus with three very powerful temptations, but our Lord maintained His integrity (Mt. 4:1-10).

The Godly Can Fail In Their Integrity
Abraham and David are two examples of godly persons who failed to maintain their integrity. Abraham’s failures are seen in Genesis 12:11-20 and 20:2-6, where he deceived kings who were his hosts by telling them a portion of the truth about his wife – saying only that Sarah was his sister. She was the daughter of his father but not the daughter of his mother. He rationalized the deception in that he feared someone would kill him to take Sarah away. Fear is a great cause of failure!

David failed at least twice. In 1 Samuel 21:13 we see him fleeing to Achish, and when his identity as an Israelite was revealed, David “feigned himself mad.” Later, in 1 Samuel 27:2 we see him fleeing to Achish, the son of Maoth, king of Gath (presumably a different Achish) to serve him as a raider. He did this job quite well against non-Israelites. However, to keep Achish’s favor David lied by saying he was raiding “against the south of Judah” (v.10). Apparently David obtained forgiveness from God for these failures because he was able to pray, “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me” (Ps. 25:21), “Judge me, O Jehovah, for I have walked in mine integrity” (26:1) and, “As for me, I will walk in mine integrity” (v.11). Even though we fail, our integrity can always be regained by self-judgment and confession. John wrote: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us [our] sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9).

What Causes Good People To Fail In Their Integrity?
Maintaining one’s integrity can be very difficult to do – everything about us can push us to do things we know that we ought not to do! For example, we fear physical suffering and death. Such were the fears that led Abraham and David to their deceptive actions. Also, truth is not necessarily one’s first inclination,2 and people care more about protecting their reputation and their agencies’ agenda.3 Why? they are rewarded for being loyal to their agency or organization, rather than for telling the truth.4

Siddhata Roy4 said that during the water crisis in the American city of Flint, Michigan in 2014, the person responsible for environmental issues in that area did nothing as another government agency spewed lie after lie that the city’s water was safe to drink and met all state and federal standards.5 Roy noted that “when you are trying to meet regulations, it’s easy to forget” that thousands of kids were being poisoned.6 People who put their professional lives on line with the truth get “fired”! 2

A person never knows when his or her failure to maintain integrity can cause a disaster. For example, the disastrous sinking of the “unsinkable” luxury liner “Titanic” was the consequence of just such a failure. The leak that led to its sinking was not a gigantic hole but a gash that had resulted from the shearing out of a small section that had been welded with defective rivets. During the ship’s construction, an analyst decided to skip the repetitive work and report earlier results instead. Unknown to him, the manganese levels in this critical batch of rivets was wrong, causing them to malfunction and resulting in disaster!

What Is The Remedy?
The remedy is not as simple as merely imparting scriptural principles and expecting integrity to follow. The dilemmas of the real world are not that easy. People must also be taught that to maintain integrity in the real world they will have to be willing to put themselves in harm’s way to do the right thing.3 The pressures to do wrong things are powerful!

We who are engaged in prison ministry too often observe prisoners who can cite scriptural principles and related verses with ease fail to maintain their integrity when they are released. Are we all not somewhat like that too?

Our Bible studies and Sunday School lessons emphasize knowing and believing, whereas our Lord emphasizes doing! It is not just those who know our Lord’s words and who believe them who build their lives on a solid foundation, but it is those who do them who maintain their integrity! GT

END NOTES
1. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Deluxe Edition, Merriam-Webster 1998, p.877 (See p.958).
2. Edwards, Marc; Am. Sci., May-June 2016; p.136.
3. Ibid. p.135.
4. Siddharta Roy; Am. Sci., May-June pp.137
5. Ibid. p.137.
6. Ibid. p.138.

By Alan H. Crosby

Integrity “He that walketh in integrity walketh securely; but he that preverteth his ways shall be known.” —Proverbs 10:9 JND “Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse, double in ways, though he be rich.” —Proverbs 28:6 “The integrity of the upright guideth them; but the crookedness of the unfaithful destroyeth them.” —Proverbs 11:3 “But as for me, Thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before Thy face for ever.” —Psalm 41:12 “He layeth up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to them that walk in integrity.” —Proverbs 2:7 “The righteous walketh in his integrity: blessed are his children after him!” —Proverbs 20:7