WHY IS INTEGRITY IMPORTANT?

Proverbs 10:9 ‘The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.’

What do you do when no one is 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?

Brux Austin, the editor of Texas Business magazine, has written rather despairingly: “What is going on in North America?…we have no built-in beliefs, no ethical boundaries. ‘Cheat on your taxes, just don’t get caught. Cheat on your wife, just don’t get AIDS.’ Our high-tech society, “ he writes, “has given us everything – everything but a conscience,” and integrity is a mangled casualty of our times.

Is he right about that? Have we lost a sense of decency in our nation?

We need to ask ourselves the question, “Am I living a life of integrity?”

It was Jesus who said, “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26)

Integrity is doing the right thing even when it is disadvantageous or costly. Keeping your word and your promises. In other words it is practicing what you preach, that others can see the consistency between what you say and what you do.

Commitment to integrity is one thing that ‘sets us apart’ as disciples of Jesus.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV) “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.”

Paul said to Timothy in I Timothy 4:16 “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”

Remember the only Christ some will see is the Christ who lives in you!!!!!!