JANUARY 19 • TRUE LEADERSHIP
Integrity
For we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man. 2 Corinthians 8:21
In her book Integrity, author Barbara Killinger defines integrity as, “… a personal choice, an uncompromising and predictably consistent commitment to honor moral, ethical, spiritual, and artistic values and principles.” — doing the right thing for the right reason. The English Oxford Living Dictionaries define integrity as, “The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.” The Cambridge Dictionary adds to the end of that, “that you refuse to change.”
Integrity in a building is its soundness and quality of build. In software it is the ability to work correctly and have data integrity — not data loss. There is marketing integrity which is honesty in advertising and branding. You even have a political integrity which is any discrepancy between what a political party claims and the practices the party is trying to hide.
Therefore, honesty is a great part of integrity. I think it’s a consistent adherence to a particular ethical code of belief and action. Consistency is imperative because it allows us to build an ongoing group of beliefs that we don’t change and it allows others to understand us because we continually adhere strictly to this particular set of ethical and moral values. Without integrity, we confuse others (and ourselves) and clarity becomes a problem as well.
What are your values? Do you adhere to them judiciously? Do you compromise those values and beliefs? Do you have one set for home and another for work and another in friendships? Do you treat your team with integrity or do you treat people differently? If we fail to consistently adhere to our values we become hypocritical and fail at integrity. Without integrity, our character can be compromised. Take some time and write out your values and determine what you are willing to go to the mat over. Then stick to those principles conscientiously (but not harshly) until you find a stronger moral value that shows a need to change. Do not be tossed by wind or wave — be steadfast, immovable, righteous. (Ephesians 4:14)
Pray: Lord, open my eyes to your values and help me adopt those to my character that I might have an integrity that you delight in and holds steadfast!
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