Whoever walks in integrity walks securely but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.
Proverbs 10:9 NIV
Integrity
According to Psychology Today Canada, you can clearly see integrity in several actions. These include parents apologizing to their kids for over-punishing or yelling at them, bosses highlighting their staffs’ accomplishments and downplaying their own, couples boycotting name-calling or other vicious behaviours, drivers who (almost) never use the horn or drive aggressively. As well, integrity is marked by giving another person the benefit of the doubt when the circumstances are unclear and people in positions of authority apologizing for keeping their captive audiences waiting.
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The story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde paints the picture of a man who is kind and mild-mannered publicly but who is secretly cruel and violent. It is at its heart a picture of a lack of integrity, something far too common in the human experience. Wise King Solomon took note of the blessing of integrity and the price paid by those who lack it. In Proverbs 10:9 he writes: “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.” God calls His people to a life of integrity because He knows that if we live what we say we never need to be worried about the secret part of our lives being discovered. And Solomon reminds us that everything done in secret will one day be revealed – if not in this world, certainly at the Day of Judgment. How much better is it to live a life that honours the Lord Jesus in all things, in public and in private. We will have so much more peace and joy in this life and confidence on the day when all will be revealed. Honour Jesus today by living a consistent life of integrity.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley