The Sacrifice of Integrity
by Anita Worthen
The definition of sacrifice is: “to give up something of value for something with a more pressing claim.” The definition I am using for integrity is “being honest and undivided, to live out in private what you really believe.” This is not an easy thing to do in this difficult, fast moving world. Too often, we sacrifice our integrity because we are under pressure to make immediate decisions, or we want to avoid conflict. I believe that while many Christians are fighting to maintain their integrity, they nonetheless are losing this battle on a daily basis. Some may be completely unaware that there is a battle.
Integrity is key to living out true relationship with God and avoiding just the practice of religion. Let us be challenged to live up to this high calling today. Promise Keepers often speaks to the issue of restoring integrity in Christian men.
A few weeks ago I was half-listening to a local Christian radio station while washing dishes. “Integrity is missing in the church today,” I heard them say. I began to listen more intently. “Christians need to live out what they really believe in their daily life…” I began to walk towards the radio as I dried my hands. This brought to mind dark periods of my Christian walk. Specifically when I was a night shift waitress. “Yes, that was what I was missing!” I said aloud to no one. I have often looked back at that time in my life, wondering what went wrong, but I could never identify what I was doing that made me lose my closeness with the Lord. Yes, a lack of integrity was definitely what was wrong. Because I worked with such a wild bunch of people, I often compared myself to them and came out looking pretty good! But God never said to use the world as a measuring stick, we are to use only Him and His Word. I think with my twisted mind, I thought that those around me would be attracted to Christ because I was a party Christian. Now as I look back I can see that I was more concerned about fitting in than standing up to strong Christian principles. I seemed to think I could slip in and out of that party Christian personality as easily as I slipped my waitress uniform on and off, but I was sadly mistaken, and paid a high price for my ambivalence.
The radio show showed me that I had failed to exhibit integrity in the past. This prompted me to begin to pray about what this had to do with me now. I am not living two lives. I am not in the same place I was then. God began to show me subtle ways that I lacked integrity on a daily basis–like choosing to pray before meals according to who I am with and what they do.
We would all agree that if a Christian, under the cover of darkness, slips into a porno shop or X-rated movie, this would be an obvious lack of integrity, but there are so many gray areas that we need to consider. Certainly, like myself, others struggle with integrity on the job. What about talking about people behind their back? It’s hard not to join in this kind of gossip, especially when talking about the boss! These were constant struggles for me over the many years I worked a secular job as a Christian. Yet, God’s word is clear about this; “A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates close friends,” (Prov. 16:28). Scripture is full of warnings about gossip.
Entertainment is another area that we struggle to maintain integrity. In Proverbs 15:14, it says “A wise man is hungry for truth while the scoffer feeds on trash” (Living Bible). It certainly makes one think of “trash TV.” The Bible says “think on good things;” how difficult it is to get away from this perverted world long enough to think on good things. So what about our daily business deals? What if we are in sales and must exaggerate the merits of our product? What if we are certain the person has no need of our product, and probably cannot afford it? Do we continue to press the sale?
So Are We Called To Be Perfect?
If we cannot fulfill all the Biblical advice given, we are in good company. Paul says “What I want to do I do not do, but what I hate, I do,” (Rom. 7:15. Paul was honest about his failures and integrity for us means being that honest also. Paul was not pretending that he was sinless, but he was stating his daily need for a Savior. We too need a Savior daily. What God is calling us to is, like Paul, being honest about our failures and being willing to improve our behavior. We cannot live a sinful, secret life without it affecting our outward life.
Although I enjoyed my work and the people I worked with, outside of my work I became very isolated. I just didn’t feel comfortable with Christians. Because I lacked Christian friends, I had no one close enough to call me on my behavior. It was one of the loneliest times of my life. I didn’t have the “spiritual eyes” to see how my behavior at work contributed to my isolation. I was caught up in a big pity-party. This kind of attitude soon erodes our Christian life.
The Sacrifice
Do you place high value on integrity? What is more valuable to you than honesty? Are there circumstances in your life where you feel that you have no choice but to lie? Do you feel that you must ‘bend the truth’ to keep your boss happy? If we are really willing to say to God: “I will obey you and trust you to provide for me,” then we will have the courage to examine some of the gray areas of our lives and prepare our responses in advance, so we will not be caught off-guard.
Steps To Integrity:
- Make time for reexamining your life through prayer: Seek God to show you areas that you fall short in. After that radio show I started praying, knowing that I still have areas that I would rather my Christian friends didn’t see, but my new awareness has helped me to clean up some of those compromising areas and I am learning to be more honest in my search.
- Study the scriptures: This is the standard we are to compare our lives to, not other people. Do private Bible study on areas you fall short in (such as gossip) and it will help you to know God’s perspective.
- Take a look at your relationships: Who do you feel comfortable with? Are you more comfortable with nonbelievers than with your Christian friends? Do you have intimate Christian friends that know everything about you and are willing to speak truth into your life?
- How do you spend your free time? We have so much time that is already pre-arranged we need to jealously guard our free time. Do you constantly strive to have time with God and to spend time learning about Him? Do you spend your time “thinking on good things”? Do you ever take a walk in the woods or watch the waves hit the rocks at the sea? Or do you spend most of your time in front of the TV or hours delving into the Internet?
Priorities
This is really what it all comes down to? Is it a high priority that you grow closer to the Lord? That you grow to understand what He did for you? Do you know or want to knowhow wonderful it is to be in His presence? Do you hunger to have more time with Him? That close relationship with Jesus is on the other side of obedience, pure and simple. God is calling us to give integrity a high priority. Let me challenge you to make a daily sacrifice to live a life of integrity. To be honest about your needs and failures, to let others know that you are weak and in need of prayer. This is the road to a full and wonderful life in the Lord.
Power Through Our Confession
God has made us to be a people who need others. Honesty will water what God has planted in our hearts. The power to do what is right will be revived once again. As the Scriptures tell us: “Don’t tell lies to each other; it was your old life with all its wickedness that did that sort of thing; now it is dead and gone. You are living a brand new kind of life that is continually learning more and more of what is right, and trying constantly to be more and more like Christ who created this new life within you,” Colossians 3:9, 10 (Living Bible).