Final Thoughts on Integrity

"A righteous man who walks in his integrity - How blessed are his sons after him" (Prov. 20:7; "Better is the poor man who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool" (Prov. 19:1).

Hey Gang: One of the great hero's of my life, Five Star General Dwight D. Eisenhower, wrote the following piece of wisdom: “The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.  And, to that, I would add as President of the United States.

 

Warren Buffet, a very successful man by world standards, wrote this bit of truth that we see acted out in reality each day: In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities- integrity, intelligence, and energy. And, if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you."

Abraham Lincoln said, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

Harry S. Truman, who I believe was a man of integrity, said the following: "A person who is fundamentally honest doesn't need a code of ethics. The Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount are all the ethical code anybody needs."

Alexander Solzehnitsyn shared this piece of wisdom: "In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand-fold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evildoers . . . we are ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generations."

All of these are important if you are going to write a term paper on ‘integrity’.  But, unless you place them in the "Our God is a God of Integrity" column, they will be just so many words.  In this day when everything that can be shaken is being shaken, God is calling His people to be people of integrity, to show His character to the world through everything we say and do!

Soooo. my friends, in closing these epistles on integrity, we need to remember that God promises  blessings to those who live according to His desires.    In Proverse 10:9 we read of one of those blessings: "The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out".  In Proverbs 11:3,  "The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.  And in Proverbs 13:6 Solomon tells us, "Righteousness guards the man of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner".

 But also notice the second half of these Proverbs.  Those who  don't walk in integrity receive exposure for their falsehood, destruction and are overthrown by wickedness. Just as there are always blessings for obeying God, there is always a price for disobeying Him.