Dena's Devotional

This was one of Dena's devotionals this week that I liked a lot.

The other night, Greg and I went out to dinner with friends. The bill came and Greg noticed that they hadn't charged us for my raspberry ice tea; so he pointed it out to our waiter, who asked, "Would you like me to change that, sir?" Of course, Greg said, yes. It's not the first time I've seen Greg act in an honest way. I believe that his parents raised him to be that way and as a follower of Jesus, he chooses to be honest. For several years, Greg went to Promise Keepers. It's is a "Christ-centered organization dedicated to introducing men to Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, and then helping them to grow as Christians" If you go to their website, it reads: "Promise Keepers: Men of Integrity"

I know we are supposed to have integrity, but what exactly is it? Noah Webster says, "The entire, unimpaired state of any thing, particularly of the mind; moral soundness or purity; incorruptness; uprightness; honesty. Integrity comprehends the whole moral character, but has a special reference to uprightness in mutual dealings, transfers of property,and agencies for others" Another dictionary gives this definition:"adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty"

So, if a person has integrity, they are moral, pure, honest, ethical. What does the Bible say about integrity?

**"Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight, or volume. Your scales and weights must be accurate. Your containers for measuring dry goods or liquids must be accurate" ~Leviticus 19:35-36

**"The Lord demands fairness in every business deal; He sets the standard. A king despises wrongdoing, for His rule depends on His justice.The king is pleased with righteous lips;He loves those who speak honestly"~Proverbs 16:11-13

**"Good people are guided by their honesty; treacherous people are destroyed by their dishonesty" ~Proverbs 11:3

**"It is better to be poor and honest than rich and crooked" ~Proverbs 28:6

**"I know, my God, that You examine our hearts and rejoice when You find integrity there" ~1 Chronicles 29:17

**"Then the Lord asked satan, "Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth – a man of complete integrity. He fears God and will have nothing to do with evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you persuaded me to harm him without cause."

**"In my integrity You uphold me and set me in Your presence forever" ~Psalm 41:12

** "And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good deeds of every kind. Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching"~Titus 2:7

Who do you know that you would describe as being a person of integrity? What is it about them that sets them apart? How do you feel when someone you know professes to be a follower of Christ, and they act in ways that are dishonest, unfair, immoral or unethical? At some time or another, each of us will let someone else down. We will disappoint others. I think that's why we need to be aware of our actions and choose to be people of integrity. Every time we have to make a decision, we get to choose to be honoring to God and to others.

"Integrity is what we do, what we say, and what we say we do"

“If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven played music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well" ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you" ~H. Jackson Brown

"I never had a policy; I have just tried to do my very best each and every day" ~Abraham Lincoln

“Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught" ~J.C. Watts

“You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who can do nothing for them or to them" ~Malcolm S. Forbes

"Integrity is doing the right thing--even if nobody is watching"

To read more from Dena, go here Dena's Devotionals