Food for Thought: What is Integrity?

William Penn (1644-1718) was a Quaker involved in the colonization of what became Pennsylvania. He said, "Right is right, even if everyone is against it; and wrong is wrong even if everyone is for it." Men of Integrity, January/February 2013, p.2/6

Integrity means being honest with ourselves, other people and with God. It means standing up for the truth and truthfulness itself. It means being faithful to what is right and just. It means relying on what we know to be honorable and upright behavior in word and deed. It means speaking only from verifiable facts and standing up for our own rights and the rights of others.

When others need our help, or are being bullied, we need to speak up and make sure that whatever remedy is called for comes to pass. It means acting in such a way that we can look back at the end of our lives with few regrets, knowing that we have acted responsibly and can feel proud of our actions as well as our accomplishments.

Psychosocial Researcher Eric Erickson has said: “Those who feel proud of their accomplishments will feel a sense of integrity and a general feeling of satisfaction. These individuals will attain wisdom, even when confronting death.”

“The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.” Proverbs 10:9

“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” Proverbs 11:3

“Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?” Job 4:6

If we live our lives with integrity, we have the hope that some day, when we stand before our maker, we will not be ashamed, and that He will commend each of us and not rebuke us too harshly for how we lived our lives. Not that we can ever be perfect, but we can act according to the highest moral standards we know and humbly confess our failures.