Integrity – I’ve got it! Or do I?
Practically speaking, integrity means that we live without obvious contradiction between what we say we believe and what we actually do. There’s an observable consistency about them, linking their words to their actions. A common slang expression for people with integrity is that they “walk their talk,” meaning that what they say and do are consistent. A ‘high integrity’ person lives out of one value system, not two or more.
What does Christian integrity mean when applied to our vocations? Since Jesus doesn’t have two sets of values, there isn’t one set of values to be used in church or sacred venues and another to be applied in the marketplace. Christian integrity recognizes only one set and source for its values – Jesus’ teachings. A person said to have Christian integrity is one who lives an integrated life, made morally and spiritually whole in both belief and action, in-line with Jesus’ clear teaching.
Obviously, the world employs very different goals and tactics. The teachings of Christ stand in vivid contrast to the conventional ‘wisdom,’ instruction, and practices of our society where situational ethics prevail. His ways are scorned and rejected by unbelievers (and, to our shame, by many who label themselves Christians). Jesus’ teachings are said to be impractical, old fashioned, exclusionary, idealistic, and so on.
The world barely concedes a place for our faith on Sundays, let alone anywhere else. Contemporary western culture mockingly considers our Sunday worship, embrace of Biblical principles and desire to finish strong in this life as misguided and costly. The world would have us, instead, pragmatically pursue the American dream by consuming and pursuing riches to fund a lifetime of golf, fishing, cruising and ‘perpetually young’ golden years. There is no peace between Jesus and the world. None. He loves the world, but the world hates Him.
Do you want to change the world for Christ through the marketplace? Our character and conduct are prerequisites to enabling fruitful ministry. What we do (i.e., how we make a living) is not as important as who we are (i.e., how we make a life) expressed through our integrity in Christ. By extension, the character of our company results from translating shared values into action in a way that others can see. This requires that we have the guts to do what’s right, even when others wouldn’t blame us for compromising. Let’s be counted among the few that aren’t “posers” by leading others with genuine transparency and trust. May our Lord enable us to have the guts to stand firm, speaking the truth in love, in a society that expects hypocrisy!
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Great thought in here! I especially like the way you put the expression of our integrity in Christ: how we make a living is not as important as how we make a life.
There’s this Sacred Secular Divide in the minds of a lot of us Christians, we need to get rid of it.
Thanks for sharing this!
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