Living a life of integrity – what does that mean? Integrity is being a genuine person, even when nobody’s watching. Think about how you are at church, at school or university, work, and at home. Are there differences? To be a person of integrity means being the same in all places and situations. We also can’t say one thing and do another. So integrity is not just reading the Bible, but putting it into practice and valuing the laws God’s laid out for us. It’s making sure our lives line up with God’s Word. David would probably have said, ‘not a chance’ if you’d told him that a day was coming when he’d sleep with Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, and then have Uriah murdered to cover it up. But it happened. Forgiven, restored, and looking back on it, he wrote Psalm 119. That’s a Psalm all about valuing and keeping God’s laws, a Psalm about integrity. David prayed: ‘Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the [law] of the Lord…You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully. Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees! Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands…Please don’t give up on me! How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word. I have tried hard to find you – don’t let me wander from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. I praise you, O Lord; teach me your decrees…’ (vv. 1-12 NLT). Why not make that your prayer today.
What Now?
Pay attention to how you speak and act in different situations today. Do you notice any differences, anywhere you’re trying to ‘fit in’ rather than being yourself? Take those areas to God and ask Him to help you work on them.