The world is filled with bad news. People have learned to feast on bad news for so long that one wonders if they would be contented to read only good news.
One day I found some truly good news buried at the bottom of page 23 of a newspaper. I found it refreshing. The article told of a man who had worked for an amusement park some years ago. One of the coin-collecting machines at the park broke down, so the young man had pocketed some of the change. He excused himself, thinking the owners of the park would never miss the money.
Recently this man became a Christian and remembered his theft of years back. He knew he would need to make restitution, so he paid the money back with 15% interest per year. An amusement park official testified that he had never seen anything like this.
Yes, it is good news that there are still a few honest people around. It is even better news that God is still at work convicting people of sin and their need to make things right!
The former thief confessed that his act of restitution was not so much a matter of conscience as it was an act of obedience to God. Even if he had not felt very guilty about the small amount of money stolen, he still knew he needed to obey God.
No doubt this act of obedience spoke to more people than a multitude of pious words, even sermons, not backed up by obedient lives. I was reminded of Samuel, a leader in ancient Israel, who said, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1Samuel 15:22). Jesus spoke similar words, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he thatdoeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
It is hard to imagine what the world would be like if everybody took seriously obedience to God, even in just one area, such as honesty. Businesses would prosper as never before with scrupulously honest employees and employers. Stores would not need to figure large losses to shoplifting every year. The inflation rate would fall.
It is increasingly difficult in our world to find men and women of integrity, who will live by principles and do what is right regardless of the cost. The word integrity in English comes from a Latin word meaning “whole” or “complete.” A good dictionary definition is “the quality or state of being of sound moral principle, uprightness, honesty, and sincerity.”
Everyone admires integrity but on what do they base their integrity? Another common definition for moral integrity is”steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.” However, with that definition, some people’s “moral or ethical code” could tell them that certain people need to be wiped off the face of the earth. Such “steadfast adherence” leads to genocide and to suicide bombing. The Nazis who killed millions of Jews were adhering to a strict code. True integrity must be something more.
Genuine moral integrity that profits and blesses mankind is based on the moral and ethical code of Almighty God. “Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go” (Isaiah 48:17). Genuine integrity must be motivated by a right relationship with God and a desire to please Him.
True integrity will bring us satisfaction now and in the life to come. The Bible tells us how to experience true integrity. “He that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil” (1 Peter 3:10-12).
We know that the whole world will not become obedient to Christ, but we can be examples of godly integrity where we are. Let us choose to be men and women who are encouraging and safe to live around. Let us choose integrity that stems from obedience to God’s Word, the Bible. Have you brought “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5)?
-by Roger L. Berry