“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out”

Today I want to talk about the most important christian character, integrity. I may say it is all-round, and comprehensive character. We can compare the word 'integrity' with the words 'crooked path'. The Bible is using the word 'integrity' as a opposite concept to the words ''crooked path'. Then we can change the word 'integrity' as the words 'straight, honest, upright, erect...'

I think one of the biggest compliments you can get in your life if someone says you are a person of integrity. Integrity is one of the fundamental characteristics of a Christian. And it is consists of many different characters. Do you know what are those?

1. honesty. If you are not honest in little things, you are not a person of integrity. Finding a sales person, or a store owner with integrity is difficult to find. This was also a problem in the Old Testament. If we read Lev 19:35-36, this problem of store owners using dishonest means to earn money was very common. Rarely do I meet a salesman who says, ‘that doesn't look good on you, don’t buy it.’ Or ‘this product is actually terrible. Don’t buy it.’ We may point a finger at a salesman or store owner, thinking that they only want to make money, but we are guilty as well. We are telling a lie with little things. Sometimes we tell a lie for saying humor or joke and generally don’t think that we are liars. If someone said, ‘you’re a liar’ we would be insulted because we insist on thinking that we are honest in the big things, like not stealing money. But integrity is about the little things, that no one sees. I want to say that change is about the little things we do, the little decisions that we make. Because if we are not honest and responsible in the little things, we will not be honest and responsible in the big things. The problem is, these ‘little things’ may not seem important because we think that no one has seen our actions, but as we all know, God is like CCTV. He see everything about us. Integrity is about honesty. People of integrity not only speak the truth, but they act out in truth. Honesty builds trust. If no one trusts you, how will you ever lead people to God?

2. Loyalty. We can change loyalty with consistency. A loyal person never turns his back on someone even though it may mean that problems may occur. Sometimes in life we are forced to make a decision. Should I remain loyal to someone even if it means I have to turn my back on the majority? We are pressured to follow other people rather than what is in our heart. We choose sides based on what we can gain, rather than consider how the other person feels. I hope you never have to experience this, but there may be times when you are told to choose between your job or your friends, money or your friends, or even the chance that all your friends will leave you if you remain loyal to one. But we have to follow what we think is the best. People are not objects that we can throw away. Just as we expect loyalty from others, we should show others our loyalty. When you go through bad times, who is standing next to you? Those are the people you need to keep next to you, because these are your loyal friends. People of integrity are never moved by people or situations, because they know right from wrong. They know that their decision will be the best one in the end.

3. Sincerity in his intentions. My thought may be wrong but normally I think there is only one reason people are nice to you, because they want something from you. And when they receive what they want, they don’t contact you again. Have you ever thought about whether other people think about you? There are some people who flatter you, not just compliment you, but say things that you know cannot be true. There are a few people I know that are real flatterers. They try to compliment people, not because they like them, but because they want something from them. I really dislike these people, because everyone seems to like them and I can see them using people. But this attitude is wrong. Because these people will be exposed eventually and Someday people will find out what their real intentions are.

Of course there are cheerleaders who are encouraging you and they are sincere in what they say. For example, your parents say 'You look handsome, what happen to you?' Also your family members, or your sincere friends may say like that. That is exceptable. They are not flatterers. But anyway we should be sincere in all circumstances. We can compliment people without being dramatic and use our words to help encourage others. This does not mean that we can criticize others as freely as we want because we are required to be honest. If we are in a situation where we have to tell someone something they don’t want to hear, we need to do it tactfully. Having integrity means being able to rebuke someone gently. When we help others, it should be done with the sincere desire to just help, rather than wanting something in return. We think everything we do is give and take but I ask you this time, 'Are you sincere in your intentions and goals?

4. Faithfulness in everything. Being faithful means that we keep all our promises, regardless of how difficult it is to keep them. When we say, let’s meet at 7, then we should meet at 7. We promise our children that we will do something for them, and it is our job to keep that promise. Prov 25:19 says like a bad tooth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful in times of trouble. People who are inconsistent and do not keep their promises will never be trusted. They have to work extra hard just to show that they will be able to perform a certain job. If you are reliable and faithful, you don’t have to convince other people that you are. Everyone will know just by your actions. When we make promises, we should not make them lightly. We say, ‘I’ll call you’ and we never do. We say, ‘I’ll pray for you’ and then we forget.

When we meet people of integrity, we feel slightly guilty, right? They may make us feel sorry and even repent, which is a good thing, because repentance always draws us closer to God. So we need to choose to have integrity. We need to work on having integrity. So I have 2 questions for you today. If people were to describe you, would they say you are a person of integrity? And secondly, what are you doing to improve your integrity? We’ve talked about 4 characteristics today: Honesty, loyalty, sincerity, faithfulness. Let us change to become people of integrity. Amen.

[Prayer]

Heavenly Father, we thank you for teaching us what the person of integrity is. We know a person of integrity is honest, royal, sincere and faithful in everything. But the knowledge is different from the real life, and without your help we can not equip us with such great characters. Only your words and holy spirit can change us and grow us to such as a person of integrity. Lead us, and guide us with your words and move us with your holy spirit so we may grow into a person of integrity. In Jesus' name I pray. A-men.