WARFARE 3 (INTEGRITY)

Proverbs 11 vs. 3 – “The integrity of the upright will guide them...”

In this series, we are concerned with everyday living difficulties. The battles we have to fight on a daily basis, bringing up our kids in a godly way, the issues of being good employees and employers, ultimately the difficulties we have to endure in living every part of our lives for God.

The enemy is happy to watch you loose control of your kids as a parent, mismanage your finances, become unproductive at work, or live a shameful life.

The usefulness of integrity in winning these battles is the focus of this article.

The word integrity simply means to Integrate i.e. to male whole. It requires being consistent in your values, thoughts, and actions. – Bob Gass

Integrity requires the whole of you to pull it off. All your senses, organs and thinking, behaviour and character must be in sync to be able to achieve integrity. If any part of your body or yourself decides to go on its own, your integrity will be lost.

“Impressions are like shadows, they disappear when a strong enough light shines on them but integrity is different, the more light you shine on it, more of its details you can see. – Bob Gass

If you proclaim yourself as a good Samaritan, and you see someone lying down on the street asking for help which you can render. If your legs decide not to take you there, then your integrity is flawed. Integrity requires your mind body and soul to be one.

In Genesis 17, God made a covenant with Abraham and it detailed what God would do and what Abraham will do. Abraham responded immediately by doing what is required of him
Vs. 23 “.... and Abraham circumcised the flesh of their foreskin on the same day”

On the same day he carried out the painful exercise of cutting the foreskins of both kids and adults. He did no let procrastination tarnish his integrity.

Integrity brings constancy to your life which allows people to form better relationships with you.

Gen 18 vs. 17 – God asked himself “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing? And in verse 19 God explained why Abraham has now become his friend... because of INTEGRITY.

Vs. 19 – “ Yes, I've settled on him as the one to train his children and future family to observe God's way of life, live kindly and generously and fairly, so that God can complete in Abraham what he promised him” (The Message)

Abrahams Integrity also spun him into action once he knew the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. He pleaded with God to save the city; some people will say it is because his nephew lives there, but certainly his nephew is not 10 righteous people.

Integrity has a mutating gene that makes it spread. Lot had lived with Abraham for most of his life, and surely the life of integrity that Abraham lived had rubbed off on him. It’s not surprising that he did almost as exactly as his uncle in showing hospitality to strangers. ------ Integrity. Little did I wonder that God called Abraham His FRIEND.

Matthew 21 vs. 12 gave an account of Jesus cleansing the temple of the people that have turned it into what it is not. In the face of public humiliation and revolt, Jesus’ integrity stood out.

I would have loved to end this writing with the following:

“Let what you think be what you feel, let what you feel be what you say, let what you say be what you do.”

But, I would be making an unimaginable claim that what you are thinking is very much seated on the moral part of doing good.

The bible says “the heart of man is desperately wicked, who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17 vs. 9)
The Hebrew word for heart used in this passage is “Leb” and it is widely used for the feelings, the will and even the intellect.

So, among all things, our intellect and feelings are not the best to go by when talking of integrity.

Pick a depressed person walking on the street, he/she is thinking about committing suicide, and the person’s feeling it... as in talking it... and then doing it... I’m sure the last thing we want to hear about such is that he/she is a person of “Integrity”

Rather than “Let what you think be what you feel, let what you feel be what you say, let what you say be what you do.”.... Take the following as your meaning of integrity

“True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with Me (God) in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin. (Malachi 2 vs. 6)...

Notice, he didn’t just stop himself from iniquity, he also helped others from doing the wrong things.

If that is you, then you are a person of INTEGRITY.... so says God.


INDICATORS OF INTEGRITY:

· The golden rule: “Do unto others as you would like them to do to you” (Luke 6 vs. 31). Integrity requires you to understand the need for consistency in warfare (daily living). As written by an author, knowledge and imagination are required to work this rule. Firstly, you must know the effects of your actions, and secondly you must be able to put yourself in the position of the recipient and ask yourself “can I take what I have just given”

· Size does not matter: Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. (Luke 16 vs. 10). Are your actions in small matters, or small environments the same as those in bigger ones?. When you are alone and no one is watching do you still do the things you proclaim as good? or you are like a chameleon that changes to the colour of the environment.

· YES = YES: Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5 vs. 37). A confused soldier is on his/her way to defeat. Likewise, if you as a soldier is giving false information or confusing the people around you, then you are just whiskers away from defeat because very soon no one will believe whatever you have to say.


Living a life of integrity is a must for us believers, albeit it may be hard, but the battle is always on and more importantly, God’s grace is sufficient.

Jesus said in Matthew 5 vs:48 “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”.
He said it because He knows it can be done... another translation presents it thus:

“In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you." (The Message)


NEXT WEEK: SUSTENANCE