How important is integrity?
* Is integrity just a quaint relic of an earlier time, a simpler time when people could be trusted and a man’s word was his bond?
* Is integrity just for the naïve, the innocent, those who don’t understand how the real world works? Or is it perhaps just for the unusually holy - Mother Teresa, for instance.
* Is integrity a situational virtue - something that you live by when it benefits you, but something that you can abandon when it gets in the way of winning?
At WestShore Community Church, we consider integrity to very important, vitally important. So important that we’ve made it one of our six core values, values that identify what kind of a church we are going to be. We believe in the importance of integrity for all times, for all people, and for every situation.
In a moment, we’re going to look at why this virtue is so important to us, but before we do that, let’s make sure we know what we’re talking about. What is integrity, anyway? It’s a little difficult to define, it’s kind of a "you know it when you see it" thing, but here are some ways of describing it:
"What you do when no one’s watching"
"On October 28, 1987, the rear door of a Metropolitan Armored Car swung open on Interstate 71 in Columbus, Ohio. Bags of cash were dumped on the highway. `It looked like snow, it was so thick,’ said officer Bob Kinney, who was called to the intersection of Interstates 70 and 71 after motorists and pedestrians jammed traffic when they stopped to scoop up the $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills. Company officials refused to say how much money was lost but sources indicated it was more than $1 million."
What would you have done?
Or what about cheating on taxes? Chances of being audited are about .3% in Cleveland - lowest in the country (Cato Journal, Fall 1999).
Other definitions of integrity:
* Doing the right thing when it is disadvantageous or costly, especially when it would be easy to do the opposite.
* Acting out of principle, rather than expediency
* Keeping your word, keeping your promises
* Practicing what you preach - consistency between words and actions. [Why has Billy Graham been on Gallup Poll’s List of Most Admired Men more than any other in last 50 years? Because he pratices what he preaches.]
What’s the opposite of integrity? Lying, deception, hypocrisy, unfaithfulness.
A commitment to integrity sets us apart as children of God
"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe" -- Philippians 2:14-16 (NIV)
People today are cynical, skeptical and suspicious of institutions. [Government, Law Enforcement, Judicial system, Business, Media, Science, Medical profession (HMO’s), Church]. Unfortunately, this skepticism is earned. Even a few well-publicized bad apples can ruin the reputation of a whole class of people.
* For example, take the case of police corruption in the Rampart division of the LAPD. Allegations of unjustified shootings, beatings, evidence planting, false arrests and perjury. One officer admitted that he and his former partners framed 99 people over three years. More than two dozen officers have been relieved of duty, suspended without pay, fired or have quit in connection with the scandal. More than 40 court cases have been overturned. Hundreds of millions of dollars expected to be paid to settle lawsuits
* "60 Minutes" has created a television franchise out of scandal, and is not likely to run out of material for stories anytime soon.
* Why are people so upset with the Census Long Form, which asks 53 questions, including whether you have a flush toilet? Because they don’t trust the government. When people hear, "we’re from the government, and we’re here to help" they instinctively reach back to make sure they still have their wallet. Is it any wonder that they have a similar reaction when they hear, "we’re from the church, and we’re here to help"?
The bad news is that we will not be taken at face value. Our assurances that we only have people’s best in mind will not be accepted. We won’t get the benefit of the doubt. We will have to prove ourselves. The good news is that when we demonstrate that we are on the up-and-up, when people see that our actions match our words, when they look closely at how we operate and find that we consistently act in integrity, then we will stand out like a sore thumb. They will see that we are different. And that will give us an opportunity to tell them why we are different.
We are diferent, not because we are morally superior (we are just sinners saved by grace), but because the God we represent is holy and pure and righteous.
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." - Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)
A commitment to integrity reflects God’s character
Our God is a God of complete and perfect integrity.
"God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" -- Numbers 23:19 (NIV)
"Jesus answered, ’I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’" -- John 14:6 (NIV)
God keeps His promises. This is essential, because the whole Christian religion is based on faith. The rewards of following Christ are mostly future. The assurances of resurrection, eternal life, forgiveness of sins, eternal blessedness, are all promises of things to come.
If you want good things in this life, then follow other "gods": money, power, pleasure, self. But if you want good things in the life to come, then you have to rely on God’s promises. This is not to say that there are no benefits in this life to following Christ, but the greatest riches and rewards are yet to come.
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - 2 Cor. 4:17-18 (NIV)
God will also keep His promise to execute judgment on those who do not repent and turn to Christ for salvation.
"But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed." - Romans 2:5 (NIV)
A lifestyle of integrity brings peace of mind
"The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out." -- Proverbs 10:9-10 (NIV)
If you don’t walk in integrity, you are never secure. You are always worrying about covering your tracks, making sure your story is consistent, making sure you didn’t leave any clues that would give you away. It’s nerve-wracking and exhausting. And eventually you will be found out. But if you walk in integrity, you’re secure. You don’t worry about being found out; in fact, you welcome it.
Application
· How have you failed to maintain your own integrity? Have you made promises and failed to keep them? Have you lied or shaved the truth in order to hide your sin or get something you wanted?
· How have you failed to maintain your integrity at home, in your relationship with your husband, your wife, your children? At work? In your relationships with those in your church family?
· Then repent. Today, this morning. Confess your sin. Ask God’s forgiveness. Ask forgiveness of those you have hurt or let down. And resolve, by God’s grace and power, to change.
(For an .rtf file of this and other sermons, see www.journeychurchonline.org/messages.htm)
