Integrity

Integrity is acting rightly, which means we must do what is right for us, a person.
A person who acts according to principles is integral; the article we read helps us understand.
that all human beings have the right to integrity both physical and moral.
Generally, all countries in the world have laws present in the constitution of each nation according to
integrity often varies according to people's cultures; that's why many
cultures have behaviors that are reprehensible to our cultures but are normal for their cultures, therefore
Integrity is what is right according to your culture.

The Bible defines integrity as obedience to God and as the purity of people's hearts.
like the holiness that a person should have as it is narrated.
Proverbs 10:9 'Whoever walks in integrity walks securely; but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.'
broken." A person of integrity will have a good reputation and will not fear being exposed or
discovered. Integrity provides a safe path through life.
Integrity is what prevents us from staying in one place but motivates us to move forward.
doing things the best we can to not give up a living example of this is Leonardo Da
Vinci who was a writer, painter, musician, architect, engineer, philosopher.

INTEGRITY AND THE BIBLE

The topic of this article is the concept of integrity, a quality of character that we often discuss.
but we do not see so frequently in the lives of public officials or even in the lives of people
with whom we live and work.

The word integrity comes from the same Latin root as whole, and it suggests the wholeness of the person. Just as
we would talk about an integer, we can also talk about a complete person, not divided. A person
Integrity lives correctly, it is not divided, nor is it a different person in different circumstances.
A person of integrity is the same person in private as they are in public.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke of those who were "of clean heart" (Matthew 5:8), which suggests a
clear attitude of following God's commandments. Integrity, therefore, not only implies an attitude
clear, but also a moral purity.

The Bible is full of references to integrity, character, and moral purity. Consider just a few
references from the Old Testament to integrity. In 1 Kings 9:4, God instructs Solomon to walk 'in
integrity of heart and in equity," as his father did. David says, in 1 Chronicles 29:17: "I know, my God,
that you scrutinize the hearts, and that righteousness pleases you." And in Psalms 78:70-72 we read that David "the
He shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them with the skill of his hands.

The book of Proverbs has many verses that speak about integrity. Proverbs 10:9 says that: "He who
walks in integrity walks confidently; but he who perverts his ways will be broken." A person of
integrity will have a good reputation and will not fear being exposed or discovered. Integrity provides
a safe path through life.

Proverbs 11:3 says: "The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the wicked will destroy them."
of them." Proverbs is a book of wisdom. The wise man or woman will live a life of integrity, which
it is part of wisdom. Those who follow corruption or lies will be destroyed by their decisions and
actions of his life.

All these verses suggest a sense of duty and an acknowledgment that we must have a level of
discernment of God's will in our lives. That will certainly require that people from
integrity be students of the Word, and diligently seek to apply the Word of God to their life.
The book of James exhorts us to be "doers of the word, and not merely hearers, deceiving ourselves."
"we ourselves" (James 1:22). That is my goal in this article, when talking about integrity.
Corruption
When examining integrity, I would like to speak of its opposite: corruption. We claim to be a nation that demands
integrity, but do we really do it? We say that we want politicians to be honest, but in
reality we do not expect them to be, perhaps because we are often not as honest as
We should be. We say we are a nation of laws, but we often break those very laws.
-like speeding or crossing the street recklessly- and we try to justify our actions.

We can find a powerful illustration in the book The Day America Told the Truth
United told the truth), by James Patterson and Peter Kim.{1} Using a survey technique that guaranteed
the privacy and anonymity of the respondents allowed for documenting what Americans really
They believe and do. The results were astonishing.

First, they found that there was no moral authority in the United States. 'Americans are
making their own moral codes. Only 13 percent of us believe in the entirety of the Ten
Commandments. Forty percent of us believe in five of the Ten Commandments. We choose in
what laws of God do we believe. There is absolutely no moral consensus in this country, as there was in the
1950s, when all our institutions instilled more respect.

Secondly, they found that Americans are not honest. "Lying has become a part
integral to American culture, a trait of the American personality. We lie, and we don't even think.
in it. We lie without any reason". The authors estimate that 91 percent of us lie.
regularly.

Third, marriage and family are no longer sacred institutions. "Although we continue to marry, we have
lost trust in the institution of marriage. One third of married men and women tell us
They confessed that they have had at least one affair. Thirty percent are not even sure that they still
man to his spouse.

Fourth, they found that the 'Protestant work ethic has long disappeared from the place of
work of today's American. Workers across the United States honestly admit that they spend
more than 20 percent (7 hours a week) of their time at work completely slacking off. That
it represents a four-day week across the nation.

The authors conclude by suggesting that we have a new set of commandments for the United States:

I don't see the reason to observe the Sabbath (77 percent).

I will steal from those who really won't miss it (74 percent).
I will lie when it suits me, as long as it doesn't cause any real harm (64 percent).
I will deceive my spouse; after all, given the chance, he or she will do the same (53 percent).
I will postpone things at work and do absolutely nothing for a whole day every five.
one hundred.

Maybe we say that we are a nation that desires integrity, but apparently most of us
lacking her in our own personal life.

The traits of integrity

Honesty

Now I would like us to focus on four key traits that are found in a person of integrity.
One of those traits is honesty.

We talked about some of the findings from the book The Day America Told the Truth. The authors found that
almost everyone in the United States lies, and they do so quite regularly. Telling the truth apparently
is no longer a virtue that people try to adopt in their lives. Perhaps we say we want people to
speak the truth, but we do not do it ourselves.
That is the problem with corruption: it is corrosive. We believe we can be just a little dishonest.
We say we want people to be honest, but then we cheat on our taxes.
We say we want people to obey the laws, but then we barely exceed the limit of
speed. We want to be honest enough to calm our conscience.

It's a bit like the story of the man who sent a letter to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
Revenue Service). He said: "I cheated on my income tax, and I felt so bad that I couldn't sleep."
I am attaching a check for $150. If I still can't sleep, I will send you the rest of what I owe.

Muchos de nosotros podemos sentirnos identificados con ese hombre. Queremos ser honestos, pero a veces
it is easier for us to be dishonest. So we try to find a way to compromise on our values
so that a little lie does not disturb our conscience.

Reliability

Another characteristic of a person of integrity is reliability. A person of integrity is

flawless. Remains true to principles, regardless of the consequences. A person of integrity gives themselves
It accounts for the existence of moral absolutes even in a world of relative values.

In Tom Clancy's novel, Clear and Present Danger, Jack Ryan is virtually the only noble character.
from the book. When he begins to uncover the government's clandestine plot, he is confronted by the
antagonist, mocking Ryan's principles. He says: "You're a Boy Scout, Jack. Don't you realize?"
It's all gray. It's all gray.

I wonder how many people of integrity hear a statement like that in conference rooms.
corporate or in government halls. It's all gray. There are absolutely no right or wrong values.
Everything is relative.

A person of integrity knows that not everything is gray. There are principles worth staying true to and
to promote. There are values that must govern our life. We have a responsibility to follow God's law.
before the crowd.

When the book of Proverbs speaks of the 'integrity of the upright', it suggests that we must adhere to
will of God and the laws of God. We have the duty to obey the absolute commandments of God in
our life and become men and women of integrity.

private life

There is a popular book on the market called Who You Are When Nobody's Looking.
Look). Who are you when no one is watching? Will I see the same person that I see when you are in a group of
People? Do you do the right thing, no matter the circumstances?

There was a story in a newspaper years ago about a man from Long Beach who went to buy a chicken to
he and the woman who accompanied him to a KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) store. She waited in the car.
while he went to pick up the chicken. Unbeknownst to him, the store manager handed the man the box in which
I had put the day's earnings instead of the cash with the chicken. It's just that I was going to make a deposit and I had...
camouflaged by putting the money in a fried chicken box.

The man took his box, went back to the car, and the two left. When they arrived at the park and opened the box,
they found that they had a box full of money. Now, this was a very vulnerable moment for a
common person. However, upon realizing the mistake, he returned to the car and went to the place and returned the money
to the manager. Well, the manager was ecstatic! He was so pleased that he said to the young man: 'Stay around here.'
I want to call the newspaper to get your photo taken. You are the most honest guy in town.

"Oh no, don't do that!" said the man.

"Why not?" the manager asked.

"Well," he said, "you know, I'm married, and the woman I'm with is not my wife."

Apparently, he had not considered the consequences of his actions. Even when he was doing something
Correct, it turned out that I was also doing something wrong. A person of integrity is integrated and
authentic. There is no duplicity of attitudes and actions.

When the apostle Paul makes a list of the qualifications for an elder of a church, he says that 'It is
It is necessary that he has a good testimony from those outside, so that he does not fall into disrepute and into the snare of the devil.
Timothy 3:7). This is not only a desirable quality for the elders of the church, but a quality to which
We all must aspire. Christians must be blameless in their public testimony before the world that surrounds them.
observe.

In the following section, we will talk more about the importance of a public testimony of integrity and
we will conclude our study.

Public testimony
I would like to conclude our discussion by addressing the importance of integrity in our daily lives.

It has been said that we may be the only Bible that people ever read. In other words, the
People around us often judge the reliability of Christianity by its effect on our lives. If they see us
as hypocrites, they may not advance further in their research of the gospel.

Every day we interact with people who observe us. Their lives will demonstrate to them if Christianity is
true or false. They make value judgments about you through their attitudes and actions. Have we done
the right choice?

After his Sunday messages, the pastor of a church in London got on a trolleybus on Monday.
tomorrow to return to his study in the center. He paid his ticket and the trolleybus driver gave him too much.
change. The pastor sat down and played with the change, looked at it several times, counted it eight, ten times. And then
The rationalization came: 'It's wonderful how God provides.' He realized that he was tight that week,
and this was precisely what I would need to cover the expenses, at least for the basics. He struggled with himself
same throughout the long journey of that trolleybus until arriving at his office. He finally arrived at the stop, he
he stopped, as he could not bear it. He walked over to the driver and said: "Look, you gave me too much change. You
"It was not a mistake." The driver said to him: "No, it wasn't an error. What happened is that I was at your church last night,"
When he talked about honesty, I thought I would put it to the test.

Fortunately, the pastor passed the test. Do you pass the test when non-believers look at you or
They look at their lives and wonder if the gospel is true? It's a damning question. When we live
lives of integrity, opportunities for evangelism and ministry arise. When we do not, those
opportunities dry up.

I have been encouraging him to develop a life of integrity. In some respects, it is a process of a lifetime.
life. But we have to start somewhere. Our lives are the collections of choices that
we have done in the past, both good and bad. Perhaps you know poetry:

Sow a thought, reap an action.

Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny.

I would like to encourage you to start focusing on the verses and biblical principles outlined here. If you
to be a person of integrity will not happen overnight. But if you do not make a deliberate plan
To be a person of integrity, it will never happen.