“5 Traits of Integrity”

We’re going to be talking about something that is mentioned over in Psalms 101: 2.

It says, “I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh, when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house.”

David, supposedly the writer of this particular Psalm, is making a commitment that he will walk with integrity at his own place. He’s not going to talk about how that he’ll be everywhere, but he’s going to at least he will for a while, limit himself to being a man of integrity, of heart in his own place.

Integrity, What we need to understand that it is one of those words that’s got a lot of little pieces kind of old, you know, fit together kind of funny.

And, integrity really is about moral innocence. It’s simple: doing things, simply. Keeping things up right with what is the standard and always being honest.

Let me give you two men who were one that was it was a great example of moral and moral innocence and one who was not.

The man I want to speak of that he did have integrity was Job. Job was plagued, and he kept appealing to God saying, “What have I done wrong to be treated like I’m being treated” when he didn’t understand that it wasn’t about his integrity at all. But he was a man who lived by his standards and the principles that he knew were right.

Now there was another man by the name of Jonah and oh, he was not a man of integrity. When he was told by God to go to Nineveh and preach to those people and, and get them to repent,  or otherwise God was going to destroy them. Instead of being a man of integrity and saying, “Well, that’s what’s right and I will go do it.” No, he tried to run from God, and that’s where the whale scene had to come. Where they threw him over the boat into the storm and the whale swallowed him.

After three days, he repented, supposedly, and he went to Nineveh. He preached the great message of God that if you don’t change within 40 days, you’re all going to be destroyed. Well, the people of Nineveh heard the message and they changed. I mean, right then!

And you know what Jonah did? He went out and pouted. He didn’t want those Gentiles to repent because the Jews were the ones who were blessed people, not those Gentiles. You see, He didn’t stick with what was right. He didn’t stay with moral innocence.

You see, God wants His followers, hopefully, you and I, to be people of integrity.

How did he express that?

We made it very simple and plain in Proverbs 19:1, “Better is a poor person who walks within his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.” He compares the poor with integrity with a crooked man, that’s a fool.

And you know, in chapter 20 of the book of Proverbs verse seven, he says, “The righteous who walk in his integrity, blessed are his children after him.” The man or woman who will dedicate themselves to being people of integrity will not only be good for their own lives, but they will be a blessing for the future generations.

In the New Testament, Paul spoke of this in a very similar way, referring to his integrity that he wanted to keep a clear conscience. Read about it in Acts 24:16.

So let’s decide, are you a man or a woman of integrity?

Well, there’s five things we’re going to look at today that will point us to where whether we are in people of integrity or not.

The first trait of a person with integrity is that they keep their promises. If they have said or signed a document that says you will do thus and so, they will do it even when it is very inconvenient and problematic for them.

You know, some people think it’s, it’s pretty easy to get a car. But you know, if if it becomes that easy, sometimes people get overloaded with all kind of debt. And then what do they do? Well, a man of integrity will try to figure out some way of taking care of the responsibilities for the promises that he made. Yeah.

Whatever you say, you do. You keep your promise. People of integrity keep their promise.

Number two, people of integrity tell the truth, always. Honesty is still the best policy, and it’s the best policy even when it becomes hard. Maybe it makes us uncomfortable. It might even lead us into situations of personal loss. But a man of integrity will tell the truth.

Let’s say you’re standing on the street corner and out there comes your best friend and another man that you hate, and they have a collision and it’s your friend’s fault. They call you for a witness into the case that will go along with this. And when you get to trial you tell them the truth even when it is uncomfortable to say something bad about your friend. And that supports the person you do dislike.

People of integrity always tell the truth and where they get the truth, well, that standard has come from God’s Word. And God expects his followers to not be like Satan, the father of all lies. He expects you and I to be people who always tell the truth and build up a trustworthiness, and a reliability because people know that we tell the truth.

The third part of integrity could be that we take responsibility.

Suppose that you’re driving into town, you’re trying to get to work, you’re running late, it’s going to get crunched time. Oh, and if I don’t get on work on time, I mean, the boss is going to be mad. So I can see you get to go and get going, going, going. And the first thing you know, you got a policeman behind you stopping you. And you’re now sure enough going to be late. And you may wind up, maybe, having to pay a ticket.

Additionally, what does a man of integrity do? Does he beg the beg the officer? Well, he could. He could ask, but he will take responsibility. Yes, sir officer, I was speeding. He will admit his admit stakes. He’s not going to try to hide them, or disguise them, or blame them on something else.

But he will not only accept the mistake, but he’ll also work to correct the mistake. Repentance comes from people who have seen the errors that they have done, and are trying to change them. They’re trying to take responsibility based upon what is right–The right in the sight of God

Number four, a man of integrity will act consistently.

There is only one way to live, and that is by and based on God’s message to mankind. We have been told what is right. We have been told what is wrong.

A man who will act consistently is someone who acts according to God’s values all of the time: when he’s out in public and when he is all alone, and there’s no one else around. Some people say that is integrity. It certainly is.

That is a man who is consistent where his life one way matches the other side exactly. There’s not a difference between the two.

It’s not like they kind of pass and you got to remember what you said over here and what you did over there. Where life gets hard and complicated to keep up with. No, no, no. The way of integrity is simple. We do the same thing all the time. We stand up for whatever is right.

We have learned, or are learning, God’s principles. And we will advocate for God’s kind of justice even when it’s not popular.

We have just gotten through an election. Did you notice how often they the, oh, I mean, I’m not picking on any politician. But so many of them would lick their finger and look it up and see which way the wind’s blowing before they made a comment. That’s not integrity.

Integrity takes up takes up God’s message and says, “This is what is right and I’ll stand up for what is right.

Are you going to be popular? Oh, it’s probably not. I will have integrity.

In Galatians 5:19-21 is a long list of sins. You can find a similar list over in 1 Corinthians 6.

Sexual immorality of any kind, yes, that is any kind of sex that is outside the bonds of marriage. And it will include homosexuality. God says that is not right.

If I’m going to be a person of integrity, I will say, “Well, if that’s what God says, that’s what I say.” I will be against sexual immorality, not the people. We can still love the people, and care about them, as Jesus would have. We also are against that that lifestyle. We wouldn’t be found in a gay pride parade, helping and supporting them. No, as a matter of fact, we’d be doing the opposite. We might be standing on the side with our own sign saying what God says.

We also need to think about what God says in so many passages, and whatever that is, we go His way there.

Here are those five things that are a trait for the person of integrity.

Number 1, they keep their promises. #2 they they always tell the truth. #3  They take responsibility for their actions. #4 They act consistently. #5 They stand up for what is right.

Are you a man or woman of integrity?

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