Integrity is that intense spiritual loyalty to God which compels a person to do the right thing, even when nobody is watching. Genuine righteousness requires it.
The patriarch Job clung to his integrity throughout all his misery, suffering, and heartache. He defiantly declared, “Till I die, I will not put my integrity from me” (Job 27:5). He kept his word.
In Psalm 26, David examines three of the blessings of integrity.
- Integrity vindicates one’s past. David’s prayer to God is: “Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Lord; I shall not slip. Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart” (vv. 1-2). Like Job, David’s integrity spawned great confidence. “For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth. I have not sat with idolatrous mortals, nor will I go in with hypocrites. I have hated the assembly of evildoers and will not sit with the wicked” (vv. 3-5). Because of their integrity, “the righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1).
- Integrity generates joyous worship. “I will wash my hands in innocence; so, I will go about Your altar, O Lord, that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving and tell of all Your wondrous works. Lord, I have loved the habitation of Your house, and the place where Your glory dwells” (vv. 6-8). Integrity ensures innocence before God, produces thankful praise of God, and increases one’s love for God.
- Integrity produces expectant hope. “Do not gather my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men, in whose hands is a sinister scheme, and whose right hand is full of bribes. But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; redeem me and be merciful to me. My foot stands in an even place; in the congregations I will bless the Lord” (vv. 9-12).
Integrity impacts one’s past, one’s present, and one’s future!
“The righteous walks in his integrity” (Proverbs 20:7).
