Faithful on Fridays Blog

Integrity: Don’t leave home without it!

Have you ever said this, “Why can’t people DO what they said they’d do?” It’s very frustrating to be chasing after people who offered their service and you don’t see any indication that they followed through. You don’t get much accomplished. It can be in your home, at work, at church, or in an organization you’re involved with; people don’t often do what they said they’d do. Can I get an amen?

Why is that? What’s lacking in our personalities? You may have various answers but they will probably describe some form of a lack of integrity. When you think of integrity, what words do you come up with? Honesty? Faithfulness? Diligence? Yes, all of these but more. The Bible gives us a character who showed integrity all of his life; his name was Job. He was a husband, father, friend, and businessman. Listen to what God said:

Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged me to harm him without cause.” Job 2:3

Did you catch who the Lord was talking to? Our enemy would like to put circumstances in our lives that cause us to lose our integrity, and yes, God allows it. When we are accused, even in our innocence, we must strive to stand with complete integrity. The Hebrew word translated ‘integrity’ means that Job did what was right, he was blameless from God’s viewpoint. He showed integrity in that he was well-rounded and balanced in his dealings with family and work. He had a sense of completeness about him. We’ll talk more about that aspect of being blameless on a Friday post.

Notice from the scripture passage two character traits listed to describe integrity: fears God and stays away from evil. Would you like that type of simple and complete life? A life lived to the full measure of God’s plan for you? If things don’t go your way this week think about integrity and think about Job.

You probably remember the story of Job. After God met with Satan, power was given to afflict Job in order to turn him from his Creator. Pain and suffering, loss of family, mockery from friends, accusation, abandonment, isolation: you name it, Satan tried it. How did Job react? He maintained his integrity. He continued on in his complete life. If you are having a hard week, maintain your integrity. Walk in the knowledge that God is on your side even if your circumstances don’t look like it. Honor God in your reactions and stay away from evil. And yes, make people happy by doing what you said you’d do!