Integrity

Integrity

Recently, my wife gave me a book to read by Erwin Lutzer, senior pastor of Moody Church. The book was Who are You to Judge?  It is an excellent read on a topic that so many Christians are greatly confused by. I recommend that everyone read this important study on biblical judgment and discernment. Many times when a pastor takes a stand against something that is evil, corrupt, or dangerous he is  viewed as a trouble maker, a sower of discord, a judgmental person or a divisive person. I have seen a number of godly pastors called these things over the years. And this is tragic! 

Without commenting on all of the sections of this book there was a section on integrity that I thought was especially good. D. L. Moody said “Integrity is what you are in the dark.” People can hurt your reputation but they cannot hurt your integrity. I have known some people over the years that work extremely hard to build a good reputation while neglecting character. Unfortunately, many people do not know the difference between these two.

Here is a list of things that people of integrity do not do. People of integrity do not:

1. Fear man
2. Compromise their convictions
3. Lie
4. Fail to keep their word
5. Allow money, fame, or love of popularity to influence their decisions
6. Fail to keep their commitments
7. Make themselves look better than they really are
8. Take advantage of others
9. Lord over others
10. Use false guilt to manipulate others
11. Let their emotions or feelings cloud their judgment
12. Break their promises
13. Promote themselves
14. Allow others to promote  them with false praise and hero worship
15. Refuse to take counsel from godly sources
16. Think more highly of themselves than they ought to think
17. Walk in the spirit of pride
18. Justify sinful behavior
19. Read their own press clippings
20. Manipulate others with gifts, money, or praise
21. Use self pity to attack others
22. Show partiality
23. Fail to bind their conscience with the Word of God
24. Intentionally mislead and deceive others
25. Speak out of both sides of their mouth

We all talk about integrity. We all want integrity. But how difficult it is to truly be a person of honest character, and deep personal integrity. May we all strive to be holy men and women for the Lord that we serve.

I am praying for our Berean family that the Lord will bless you all and manifest Himself to you and fill you with His peace and love. 

God bless you all, 

In Christ, Pastor