Today’s Bible readings are 1 Kings 22:1-53, Acts 13:16-41, Psalm 138:1-8, & Proverbs 17:17-18
1 Kings 22:13-14
13 Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah said to
him, “Look, all the prophets are promising victory for the king. Be sure that
you agree with them and promise success.”
14 But Micaiah replied, “As surely as
the Lord lives, I will say only
what the Lord tells me to say.”
I recently preached a series in our Sunday morning services
on honor. I have been prompted to stress the importance of honor to our people.
Honor is being forgotten in culture today. There is another topic that needs to
be revived in the church today. That topic is integrity.
Much like honor, integrity is being forgotten. People have
lost sight of the value in being a person of integrity. I love our reading for
today for the book of 1 Kings. We see a great prophet of God. He was great for
many reasons, but the one thing that stands out about him to me is that he was
a man of integrity.
I also believe that it was because of his integrity that he
was such a powerful prophet of God. Integrity lead to him being used by God in
ways that others were not.
What is integrity? The Hebrew word literally means:
the condition of being without blemish, completeness, perfection,
sincerity, soundness, uprightness, wholeness.
A man of integrity is a man who in whole. He is not lacking
anything. His character is in impeccable. His word is his bond. It matters to
him do what he says. Honoring God is still the number 1 thing to uphold. He
treats his family the same each day. He handles his wife with great respect
& love.
Integrity is doing what is right even when nobody is looking.
So many times we do the right thing only when there are eyes on us. What we
fail to realize is that even when eyes aren’t on us that God’s eyes are on us.
Men of integrity believe that.
How many times have people said things only to please
another? How many times have people been dishonest only for the approval of
another? How many times have people been dishonest about things because they
knew that they could get away with it. How many times have people made a commitment
that they never took serious & never fulfilled? Integrity does none of the
above.
Integrity:
1. Handles money right.
2. Practices self-control.
3. Never takes what isn’t theirs, even if it was let lying around.
4. Practices sexual purity.
5. Tells the truth even if it costs you.
6. Holds other & themselves accountable for their actions.
Here are some things that God has to say about integrity.
Proverbs 10:9
9 People with integrity walk
safely, but those who follow crooked paths will slip and fall.
Proverbs 28:6
6 Better is a poor man who walks
in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.
Proverbs 11:3
3 The integrity of the
upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys
them.
Proverbs 20:7
7 The righteous who walks in
his integrity—blessed are his children after him!
Integrity
matters to God. It should matter to each of us. It is something that we can all
improve on if we will ask God for grace in this area. All areas of our lives
will be better as we reach for a higher level of integrity. Let’s work on this
together so that we can make a greater difference in our families, churches,
& our world!
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