First, let me apologize for the cold sweat and the shivers
down your spine that the word up there just caused. I know the feeling and let
me tell you, I’m not a big fan of the discomfort I feel whenever I’m confronted
with the big “I”. When this word first cropped up in the recesses of my mind, I
decided to Google it. Big mistake let me tell you. A big mistake if you hate
the truth, I have to add. I spent approximately five seconds looking at the
definition and realized that I, like so many others, had no idea exactly what
it meant.
Wikipedia’s first sentence immediately had me swallowing
uncomfortably: “…a concept of
consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations and
outcomes.”
Dictionary.com didn’t help much either: “…soundness of moral
character, honesty.”
And the Mirriam Webster version added the final accusing
nail to the already doomed coffin of justification: “…Incorruptibility; an
unimpaired condition; the quality or state of being complete or undivided.”
I don’t know about you, but all of a sudden I feel
completely and utterly useless and incompetent.
It begs the question: Who can truly live up to displaying a life of
integrity?
And then the justification steps in. That coffin I mentioned
earlier? It’s made up entirely of our
justifications; trying to convince ourselves that integrity is an unobtainable
virtue and as soon as we’ve convinced ourselves that integrity is not as
important as we are lead to believe, we bury ourselves in a life of mediocrity
and slavery to lies.
Do you know what I do when confronted with something like integrity?
I close my eyes and hope it goes away. Like an ostrich I try and ignore my
responsibilities. It’s not right, it’s not healthy and it won’t help me in the
long run, but I still do it.
What do you think will happen if we keep ignoring integrity
and it becomes extinct? I believe it will be an apocalypse of sorts. We will
wake up to a world of ash and dust, breathing in chemicals that will leave us
gasping for air. We will have to start a revolution just to ensure that
integrity becomes a part of everyday life again.
And here’s the thing, integrity isn’t optional. God tells us
in His Word: “Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your
own way, you go wrong.” (Matthew 5:37 MSG); and also in James 5:12 (MSG): “Just
say yes or no. Just say what is true. That way, your language can’t be used
against you.” It doesn’t get simpler than that: Say what you mean, mean what
you say and do what is right. Don’t bend
the truth to cover your behind and if you’re doing something that is
technically not illegal but you still feel uncomfortable doing it? Guess what,
integrity demands that you stop doing it immediately. We shouldn’t even be
wandering around in the “grey areas”.
Look, I’m not saying this is an easy thing to do, but it’s
definitely something we are all called and empowered to do. We have to be
soldiers and warriors of the age of integrity. Ha! I’m getting all excited!
I’ve always wanted to be a warrior. And look, I’ve even found us an anthem:
"I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones, enough to make my systems blow, welcome to the new age." - Radioactive by Imagine Dragons.
