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Walking in Integrity
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Proverbs 19:1 Better the poor walking in integrity than one perverse of speech who is a fool.
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Download audio fileI was recently in a country where graft and corruption are part of the culture. You deal with a local government authority, for example, to get a building approval, and unless you grease the right palms … your request will be denied.
So, I’m due to visit a large, well-known ministry and speak at their morning staff devotions. Their national director is a little late arriving. It turns out that he’s been dealing with a government official who’d asked for a bribe to allow them to build a certain structure on their land.
Now this new building was very important to the ministry. They were involved in distributing large volumes of printed material and they’d run out of space. They really needed this new building.
Question – what would you have done? How would you have handled this? Paying a bribe, well, it’s just part of the culture. You desperately need to get this thing done … maybe you have to get on with it and just pay the bribe.
Well, during the devotion time this ministry leader shared what had happened. This is what he’d said to the official:
We’re a Christian organisation. We don’t pay bribes. We honour God. If it’s a case of, we don’t get the building approved unless we pay the bribe, then we simply won’t build the building.
He’d made a decision, this leader. His integrity, the integrity of the ministry, His Christian witness to this official, was more important – far more important – than the building.
Better the poor walking in integrity than one perverse of speech who is a fool. (Proverbs 19:1)
There are going to be times when your principles are going to be challenged. There are going to be times when your integrity is going to be on the line. And the temptation – the serious temptation – will be to get what you want by compromising your integrity.
To this national ministry leader the new building was incredibly important. But fortunately, he was a man of God’s Word. Fortunately, the Word of God was written on his heart. He knew how to make the right decision. He made it unflinchingly, and without compromise. He refused to lie. He refused to become complicit to a dishonest transaction.
And … here’s how it all ended … in the end, God cleared the way, the government approval was granted, the building was built and the ministry is thriving.
The enemy’s deception is that you’ll only get what you want by compromising your integrity.
But our integrity is so important to God. And when we honour Him, He will take care of the rest.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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