Integrity: "1) Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.
2) The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness."

My oldest daughter asked me to jot down a few of my ideas about integrity. Please let me share them with you.

As the listed definitions suggest, integrity has two critical components:

1. Mental and physical adherence to a strict moral code
2. Undivided consistency in a persons life: in thought, speech and action, whether public or private.

The foundation of a strict moral code enables a person to avoid the flighty whims and consequences of popular sentiment. Jesus recommended building houses (our lives) on foundations of rock instead of sand because strong foundations can withstand the virtual hurricanes of opposition we experience in our lives.

The second aspect of integrity is absolute consistency between the inner and outer self, between public performance and private behavior, between spoken word and demonstrated action. The word Integrity comes from the same root word as Integral and Integrated. Both these terms imply wholeness, completeness or consistency.

Based on these two concepts, integrity denotes complete and consistent internal and external commitment to a concrete standard of ethics and morality.

A person with integrity lives by some simple rules

1. Always do what is right, regardless of the short-term reward for doing otherwise.
2. Be willing to accept and speak the truth, even if the truth is not popular or what people want to hear.
3. Promise only what you can deliver. Deliver what you promise.
4. Be true to your ideals, even in the face of criticism and ridicule.

Some examples:

1. A man of integrity does not set himself up as a paragon of faith and virtue in the community and then go home and beat his wife.
2. A woman of integrity doesn't promise the moon to get an order and then weasel out of details when it's time to deliver.
3. A woman of integrity has the courage to turn down a business deal if underhanded, illegal or unethical behavior is required.
4. A man of integrity does everything within his power and more to make sure he delivers what he promised, even if that means enduring demeaning ridicule or forfeiting compensation.

So why have integrity? Isn't it tough to live this way? Wouldn't it be easier to accept popular concepts of relative morality?

People of integrity engender trust, that time-tested, foundation principle of meaningful relationships. In the end, when the chips are down, when things are crumbling around us, people of integrity are ones people count on. They are the ones people turn to for advice, for counsel, for solutions to tough problems. They are ones who can be trusted.

Why? Because morality and ethics really do count. Truth is truth. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. I'll put my trust any day in people whose lives are rooted in a bedrock moral code and and live in absolute consistency with that code.

Tags: Integrity