Having finished our series on The Seven Pillars of wisdom, I thought I would unpack them in a blog so we can be reminded of their importance.
Last blog was on the foundation of the Fear of the Lord, this is the beginning of wisdom, everything is built on living a life in absolute awe and amazement of God.
Integrity is the first pillar. It is being who you say you are and doing what you say you will do, it is The State of being Whole and Undivided. It is not being double minded, it is being confident and sure of what you believe, and why you believe it.
St. James said. “When you ask you must believe and not doubt….such a man [that doubts] is unstable in all his ways.” A person of Integrity is whole and undivided.
Zig Ziglar said,“With integrity, you have nothing to fear, since you have nothing to hide. With integrity, you will do the right thing, so you will have no guilt.”
The ancient philosopher Hericlitus said it this way,
“Your integrity is your destiny – it is the light that guides your way.”
In our study of the seven pillars, it just made perfect sense that Integrity be the first pillar. Nothing else really matters without integrity. We can call ourselves believers, Christians, church goers, or whatever the correct word is for today, but without integrity with have nothing.
Some of the best advice I ever received was from my father-in-law, to summarize he said, “It doesn’t matter how much money you make, what kind of house you live in, or what kind of car you drive, your word is your life, once you have violated your word, you have discredited your character. Your integrity is everything, you are only as good as your word.”
These are words that ring in my head, if I say that I am going to do something I am going to do it. To be fair to my self and many others, there was a time of learning this. I know like so many, I have said things that I couldn’t follow through on, and because of that, people couldn’t trust what I was saying. If I showed up, it was a bonus, if not then that’s probably what they expected anyway.
I see this a lot today. People say they are going to do something, and then without any regard to their word, they simply don’t follow through. It can be frustrating running a business and planting a church, but it’s something that our society seems to accept.
Our word is everything, and it is the first pillar of wisdom.
We show we lack wisdom when we don’t follow through with what we say we are going to do.
Here are three simple benefits from being a person of integrity:
1. People of Integrity are Protected by the Lord:
He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. Proverbs 2:7
2. Those Who Walk in Integrity are Blessed:
For only the godly will live in the land, and those with integrity will remain in it. Proverbs 2:21
3. The Lord Delights in People of Integrity:
The Lord detests people with crooked hearts, but he delights in those with integrity. Proverbs 11:20
It may seem fundamental to some, but I can tell you that there are many today that have no idea the benefits of living a life of integrity. In today’s relativistic culture, it has become a word that is foreign.
It’s as simple as being who you say you are, and doing what you say you are going to do.
“Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. Whether it be true or not, I can say for one that I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem.” Abraham Lincoln
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