Integrity
by Joan Rono
Job is one man in the Bible who held his integrity, even in the face of loss and calamity. God commended Job for being upright!
Job`s friends visited him and spoke a lot of words to him, some to encourage him and some to rebuke him. But Job remained focused on God. He knew that God had authority to take and to give. He didn`t open his mouth to dishonour God. His faith in God was as strong in his loss as it was in his time of plenty. `In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing` (Job 1:22).
One thing I learnt about integrity is: - it`s not what we do when people are looking at us that matters, but what you do when you`re alone. God saw who Job was beyond the multitude of his wealth. If Job`s integrity came from wealth, fame, friendships and other things that he held dear, then the devil could have prevailed .But his integrity was there because he walked in the fear of God and did what was right in the presence of God.
It`s the heart that makes a man rich. He`s rich according to what he is, not according to what he has. Job was rich because he had an intimate friendship with God, his virtue was in God. He was upright before his maker. He explained his relationship with God as an intimate one. He walked with God and did everything in honour (Job 29).
Integrity is upright, honest, reliable, trustworthy. It`s not easily influenced into wrongdoing. It also means being complete and undivided. We live in a society where integrity is far from people`s hearts and a thing of the past. It`s not easy to find a person of integrity.
The truth is that God honours that commitment. Doing what`s right when nobody else is watching is NOT an easy thing. God knows it isn`t easy. Here`s what His Word says about it: `Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is perverse in his speech and is a (self-confident) fool` (Proverbs 19:1, Amp).
Are you a person of integrity? You can be with God`s help!
Prayer: Lord, I need Your help to maintain my personal integrity. I want to be the kind of person that everyone knows keeps her word. I want to be Your example of living a life without compromise. Please help me, Lord. Help me to take my commitments seriously. Help me say what I mean and mean what I say. And mostly, help me to ALWAYS do the right thing, even when nobody else is watching. I ask all things in Jesus` name, Amen!
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