9 Whoever
walks in integrity walks securely,
but
he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.
Proverbs 10:9
3 The
integrity of the upright guides them,
but
the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
Proverbs 11:3
7 The
righteous who walks in his integrity—
blessed
are his children after him!
Proverbs 20:7
18 Whoever
walks in integrity will be delivered,
but
he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.
Proverbs 28:18
Integrity is
an interesting word. The word gives a
sense of firmness, of wholeness. It
stands unmoved. It evokes the trueness
of the soul. Holman Illustrated Bible
Dictionary defines INTEGRITY
as:
Faithful support of a standard of
values. Terms which occur in parallel with integrity (Hb. tom, tomim) suggest its shades of meaning: righteousness (Ps. 7:8);
uprightness (Ps. 25:21); without wavering (Ps. 26:1 NRSV, NASB, NIV); blameless
(Ps. 101:2 NRSV, Hebrew uses tom
twice in this verse, otherwise translated “integrity”).[1]
And Merriam-Webster’s
Collegiate Dictionary provides:
In·teg·ri·ty \in-ˈte-grə-tē\
noun
[Middle
English integrite, from Middle French
& Latin; Middle French integrité, from Latin integritat-,
integritas, from integr-, integer entire]
14th century
1: firm adherence to a
code of especially moral or artistic values:
incorruptibility
2: an unimpaired
condition: soundness
3: the quality or state
of being complete or undivided: completeness synonym see honesty[2]
In Hebrew the word translated
as integrity finds its root in the word “תֹּם” which carries with it the meaning of faultless, complete. Holman dictionary recognizes the quality of
being faithful in integrity, and it is the kind of faithfulness to the standard
of values, which in the Bible the standard is the Law of God. This quality is parallel with other
qualities: righteousness, uprightness, without wavering, and blameless. The Merriam-Webster’s checks the root of the
English word integrity that is found in the Latin and French word that carries
three meanings: 1) incorruptibility,
2) soundness, and 3) completeness. If we combine all these definitions and
meanings, then we will get the weight of the meaning of the word
integrity. This is not the kind of word
that we take lightly. This is not the
kind of word that we can use jokingly.
This word is serious. This word
captures the core quality of an honorable, glorious, and dignified being. If someone is devoid of this quality, then
he/she is empty.
In contrast, the book of Proverbs calls those who are
devoid of integrity as crooked. The
Hebrew word for crooked is: a) “עָקַשׁ” which means to twist
(Proverbs 10:3; 28:18), and b) “סֶלֶף” which means crookedness
(Proverbs 11:3). Merriam-Webster’s
Collegiate Dictionary defines crooked to mean: 1) not straight, and 2) dishonest. Therefore, for a person to be called crooked he/she
must have the tendency to be dishonest, double minded, and not true. The crooked are those who say A but do B. They are the kind of people who say for but
actually are against. They cannot follow
up what they profess with their conduct.
These are the people who accuse others as thief but themselves stealing. They demand justice but themselves oppress
the weak. They are like the Pharisees
who teach all the good things but themselves do all the bad things. Jesus discloses their hidden motif in Matthew
23:2-7:
2 “The
scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so do and
observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but
do not practice. 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and
lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move
them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by
others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6 and they love the
place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and greetings in the
marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.
These are the marks of the
crooked, that they appear good and nice, people praise them, adore them, speak
good about them, but in reality they are full of egoistic motif, for they only
do things for the sake of their self centered craving to gain at the expense of
everything good, honest, pure, and holy.
On the other hand, people who walk in integrity are those
who practice what they preach. These
people do things not because they want to be seen by others, but they do it in
honesty. Their deeds are genuine. They walk the straight path. Even though life is difficult, they continue
to uphold the law of God. They do not
excuse themselves from walking the way of Torah because the world desires to
harm those who follow the Lord. The
people of integrity keep their soul whole.
They are of single mind. They
do not profess following God but in actuality obeying the devil. They do not proclaim serving God but actually
serving mammon. These people are
selfless. They act upon what is
good. Their quality is obvious, that
even though a knife is put on their throat, they would never betray the Lord. Even though they are threatened at gun point,
they would never compromise their soul and the values they hold dear. These people walk in the highest principles
of heaven. Yes, they would fall from
time to time, being sinners and all, but their soul is tortured when they fall,
and they only desire to repent, and wish to never fall again. All the heroes of faith at some point or
another fell, except Jesus Christ, for he is sinless. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Elijah,
Peter, Paul, and so on, all fell, but they repented because they hated
sin. In that way their soul remained integrated. They did not let their hearts be
corrupted. They went to God for
help. They sought refuge in the Lord. The people of integrity remain faithful even
when their life is threatened. Let me
tell you two stories. One is about the
Bishop of Smyrna, Polycarp and the other is about a little girl in China.
Polycarp was a bishop of Smyrna, in the
second century. He was a disciple of
John, Jesus’ disciple. He was 86 when he
was arrested by the Romans because of his faith. He was then brought to the arena to be
persecuted. At the arena, the proconsul
tried to persuade him to apostatize. The
proconsul said to Polycarp: “reproach Christ, and I will set you free.” But Polycarp answered the proconsul: “86
years have I served him, and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and my
Savior?” Then Polycarp was burned
because he refused to reproach Jesus.
Such is the integrity of Polycarp.
And he became a very influential model to Irenaeus, who then became
Bishop of Lugdunum.
Now let us proceed to the next story closer to our time.
In the 20th century. In a village in China during the cultural
revolution by the chairman Mao, there the Chinese liberation army went into a
church. It was Sunday. The people were worshiping. The captain ordered his soldiers to dismiss
the worship. So they did. Then he ordered to have all the people lined
up. The captain saw at the side there
was a picture of Jesus. He ordered his
sergeant to take the picture down and bring it to the front. Then the captain spoke: “Now, all of you deny
your Jesus by spitting on this picture of Jesus, and I will let you live.” All were afraid. And they started crying. “Be quiet!” the captain said. “If you refuse to do so, I will kill
you.” Then the captain called the
priest: “You come here.” Pointing to the
picture of Jesus, he ordered the priest: “Spit!
Or I’ll kill you!” The Priest,
slowly looked at the picture, then he started to spit at the picture. The captain smiled. “Good!
Very good! Who’s next?” Then one by one spat at the picture of Jesus,
denying their Lord. But one little girl,
Xiao Lan, approached the picture. She
was crying. She picked up the picture,
and with her dress she began wiping the picture. Then she looked at the captain, and said: “Captain,
you may kill me, I will not deny my Lord, my savior, my best friend.” The captain was stunned for some time. Then he asked: “What is your name little
girl?” “Xiao Lan,” she answered. “Xiao Lan, you may go,” the captain ordered,
“But the rest of you must stay.” Then
the captain ordered his soldiers to kill everyone who spat on the picture. When his soldiers asked why, he said to them:
“Out of those people, only one has integrity, and that is Xiao Lan.”
Those with integrity do not consider their lives more
valuable than the law of God. They hold
fast to the eternal word of God. They do
not betray their Lord just because some people force them to do so. What good is it to save your life and yet
lose its value? I will quote here a very
inspiring poetic prayer called: “New Pledge of Allegiance.” This prayer is said to be written by a 15
year old school kid. And the context is
that the Pledge of Allegiance and the Lord's Prayer are no longer allowed
in most public schools in the US, just because the word 'God' is mentioned. So this
15 year old kid in Arizona wrote this:
"New Pledge of
Allegiance"
Now I sit me down in
school
Where praying is against
the rule
For this great nation
under God
Finds mention of Him very
odd.
If scripture now the
class recites,
It violates the Bill of
Rights.
And anytime my head I
bow
Becomes a Federal matter
now.
Our hair can be purple,
orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a
freedom scene..
The law is specific, the
law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are
a serious vice.
For praying in a public
hall
Might offend someone with
no faith at all..
In silence alone we must
meditate,
God's name is prohibited
by the state.
We're allowed to cuss and
dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses,
tongues and cheeks...
They've outlawed guns,
but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book
makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant
Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,'
our Senior King.
It's 'inappropriate' to
teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such
'judgments' do not belong..
We can get our condoms
and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles..
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles..
But the Ten Commandments
are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.
No word of God must reach this crowd.
It's scary here I must
confess,
When chaos reigns the
school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent
plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul
please take!
Amen.
This is what Jesus says to his disciples:
24 Then Jesus
told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and
take up his cross and follow me. 25 For
whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my
sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains
the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for
his soul? 27 For
the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and
then he will repay each person according to what he has done. (Matthew 16:24-27)
Jesus commands integrity for his followers. God doesn’t command something that he has not
given. Integrity is ingrained within the
human soul. Being created in the image
and the likeness of God contains in it the quality of integrity. Integrity, therefore, is intrinsic in human
nature. Sin corrupts it. But for those who are saved in Christ may
once again stand in integrity. Job stood
in integrity even in the midst of great distress. Job 2:9-10 records an amazing quality of
Job’s character, of his integrity:
9 Then his
wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her,
“You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from
God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Job did not curse God even after waves of disasters
rushing into him unstoppable. He even
rebuked his wife for suggesting to curse God.
Job was faithful to the law of God.
He kept his soul integrated. He
did not give in to the temptation for an easy way out. He did not succumb to self pity nor excused
himself launching his curse to the holy God.
No, he composed himself, and in nobility he remained faultless.
But
today we witness so many Christians ready to exchange integrity for cheap gain.
They readily sell integrity for relief from
stress, for being accepted among friends, for gaining power, for having more money,
for avoiding pain, for saving their own life. So they prefer reducing the quality of their character
over preserving their standing before the Lord. Corruption sets in and their soul is degraded to
the point that is lower than animals. If
you fall, quickly repent and come back. Just
like David quickly repented and came back. Do not dwell in disintegrity. It is killing your soul. You keep it long enough, you will not know who
you are anymore. Because your soul will not
be whole any longer. Keep your soul whole,
even if you lose it because the mob kills you, you will save it before the judge
of the whole earth. Polycarp lost his life
at the arena, burned to ashes, but he saved it before the Lord of heaven and earth.
Xiao Lan walked with courage keeping her
integrity, she was ready to lose her life by refusing to deny her Master, but she
saved her soul. The 15 year old boy from
Arizona refused to sell his integrity, so he produced that wonderful prayer. These people model integrity to us. And definitely we got from Jesus the ultimate model
of integrity. Even when people mocked him
on the cross, he did not come down from the cross to show his power though he could.
He kept his integrity. So in the end he shouted “τετέλεσται” which means “it is finished”
or “it is completed.” Look at the cross of
Christ and you will find integrity in perfection. And that is what is commanded of us. Amen.
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