Wednesday, June 20, 2012

A LIFE OF INTEGRITY


            I am back from a week of vacation. We traveled to the North Shore of Lake Superior in northern Minnesota. It was glorious. We had to return a little early because I had to officiate at a funeral. The funeral was for a 93 year old man. I was with him and his family when he died.

            Al was one of the “Greatest Generation” of Americans. He grew up during the Great Depression. Like many others, he had to struggle to find a job and just to make ends meet. Then WWII broke out. He answered the call and enlisted in the Navy. He served in the South Pacific. Returning home after the war he started a family, farmed and eventually operated a small town bank. He retired in our community and became a part of our church.

            At the funeral several people reflected upon Al’s life. There was a recurring theme that popped up in each of the reflections: integrity. Al was a soft spoken man. He was disciplined and conscientious. But the thing that stood out was his integrity. He was guided by principle and not popular opinion.

            No one lives a perfect, sinless life. We all make mistakes and even fail along the way. But we all can live lives of integrity. In Ephesians 4:1-3, the Apostle Paul challenges us to live up to our calling in Christ. As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

            True integrity is not a façade we create for others to see but the core of who we are. Integrity begins on the inside and works its way out. It begins with a deep conviction to live according to God’s standards.

            A person of integrity is not perfect, nor do they always get things right. They are willing to own up to their mistakes, make amends if necessary and learn from them. They are unwilling to hide their mistakes or push them off onto someone else. Instead they acknowledge their failures and seek to grow through them.

            A person of integrity is generally consistent in their attitudes and actions, not being swayed by public opinion or pressure. So much of life today is controlled by the latest opinion poll or the loudest voice in the media. A person of integrity has developed the ability to discern truth from error and to choose the truth. Having a firm handle on the truth sets a person free from the ever changing winds of society. To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32 (NIV)

            A person of integrity understands who they are. They know both their strengths and their weaknesses. They are comfortable with their gifts and talents and feel no need to flaunt them or call undue attention to them. Paul urges us to gain a proper understanding of ourselves in Romans 12:3. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

            A person of integrity is not consumed with their image. In many ways they are self-forgetting, not needing or wanting to have the spotlight focused on them.

            A person of integrity is in a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. They do not presume to have made it. They do not assume that they are better than others. They focus on knowing and serving Christ. Paul modeled that for us. I leave you with his words of challenge and encouragement.

            But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.  I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,  and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:7-14 (NIV)

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