Is it not a solemn thought, that the eye of God marks all our common dealings of life, either as an abomination or a delight?
Integrity characterizes the entire person, not just part of him. He is righteous and honest through and through. He is not only that inside, but also in outer action.
Disciplines of a Godly Man, Crossway, 1991, p. 128. Get this book!
The supreme test of goodness is not in the greater but in the smaller incidents of our character and practice; not what we are when standing in the searchlight of public scrutiny, but when we reach the firelight flicker of our homes; not what we are when some clarion-call rings through the air, summoning us to fight for life and liberty, but our attitude when we are called to sentry-duty in the gray morning, when the watch-fire is burning low. It is impossible to be our best at the supreme moment if character is corroded and eaten into by daily inconsistency, unfaithfulness, and besetting sin.
Our Daily Walk. Christianity Today, v. 36, n. 10.
The word integrity means wholeness, completeness, or consistency. Derivatives of the word penetrate the vocabulary of many professions. In mathematics, we call whole numbers “integers,” and calculus uses integral equations. School integration meant we bused school children across towns seeking racial consistency. Engineers design structural integrity into our buildings, bridges, and airplanes, or their lack of integrity creates catastrophe in the news. Most recently, the lack of financial integrity in certain types of insurance and investments has brought turmoil where we expect soundness. In Scripture, when God appeared to Isaiah in chapter 6, Isaiah realized his own lack of integrity by confessing that he was undone, or in other words, he disintegrated.
Integrity in Vocation, September 2008, Tabletalk, p. 70. Used by Permission.
Integrity is like the weather: Everybody talks about it but nobody knows what to do about it (Stephen Carter).
Serve God with integrity, and if you achieve no success, at least no sin will lie upon your conscience.
The only reason integrity should be a burden to you is if you enjoy being dishonest.
Copied from: Pleasures Evermore: The Life-Changing Power of Knowing God by Sam Storms, © 2000, p. 236. Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.org. All rights reserved. Get this book!
Integrity…does not mean sinless, but it does describe a person who by God’s grace “sin less.”
Copied from: Pleasures Evermore: The Life-Changing Power of Knowing God by Sam Storms, © 2000, p. 238. Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.org. All rights reserved. Get this book!
1. A person of integrity fulfills his or her promises. Being true to one’s word, especially when doing so is costly (in terms of money, convenience, physical welfare, and so on), is a core characteristic of integrity.
2. A person of integrity speaks the truth, is honest, and does not lie.
3. A person of integrity is a person of sincerity. That is to say, a person of integrity hates hypocrisy.
4. A person of integrity manifests a wholeness of character, including kindness, compassion, mercy, and gentleness.
5. A person of integrity is committed to the pursuit and maintenance of justice and fairness.
6. A person of integrity loves as, when, and what God loves.
7. A person of integrity is humble. He or she shuns pride and haughtiness.
8. A person of integrity is law-abiding. He or she plays by the rules, both in the Bible and the law of the land.
9. A person of integrity is fundamentally altruistic. That is to say, he is committed not simply to laws and rules but to people. Could a selfish person have much integrity? What about someone who is honest, law-abiding, and fulfills his or her promises but is self-absorbed and egocentric? Does the latter eliminate the possibility of integrity?
10. A person of integrity manifests a high degree of consistency. That is to say, he or she is not always changing the principles on the basis of which they live, unless compelled to do so by the Bible or rational persuasion.
Copied from: Pleasures Evermore: The Life-Changing Power of Knowing God by Sam Storms, © 2000, p. 245-246. Used by permission of NavPress – www.navpress.org. All rights reserved.
Often, if there is no risk of loss or painful consequences, one will never know if one has integrity. One will never know if what motivates you is moral conviction or moral convenience until you are forced to suffer loss for standing your ground or keeping your word.
Integrity, November 6, 2006, www.enjoyinggodministries.com. Used by Permission.
The world needs men who cannot be bought; whose word is their bond; who put character above wealth; who possess opinions and a will; who are larger than their vocations; who do not hesitate to take chances; who will not lose their individuality in a crowd; who will be honest in small things as in great things; who will make no compromise with wrong; whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires; who will not say they do it “because everyone else does it;” who are true to their friends through good report and evil report, in adversity as well as in prosperity; who do not believe that shrewdness, cunning and hardheadedness are the best qualities for winning success; who are not ashamed or afraid to stand for the truth when it is unpopular, who can say “no” with emphasis, although all the rest of the world says “yes.”
Quoted in: Ted W. Engstrom, The Making of a Christian Leader, Zondervan, 1976, p. 120. www.zondervan.com.
One’s mere word should be as trustworthy as a signed agreement attested by legal witnesses.
Integrity is the consistent harmony of convictions and conduct… The opposite, of course is hypocrisy… Integrity is having an untarnished moral character both publicly and when no one else is around.
Exemplary Spiritual Leadership, DayOne, 2010, p. 45, Used by Permission.
A heart of integrity is cultivated by striving to maintain a clear conscience. Our consciences are the internal mechanism given to us by God to drive us toward sincerity. Like an internal accountability partner, the conscience acts as a witness in our hearts and minds to either “accuse or even excuse” our actions (Rom. 2:15). When we inform the conscience with biblical truth we are telling it to accurately hold us in check against the standard of Scripture. The conscience itself is not our benchmark, but if kept clear and clean it becomes a powerful instrument of integrity as it drives us toward the grand, inflexible benchmark – God’s Word.
Exemplary Spiritual Leadership, DayOne, 2010, p. 46, Used by Permission.
