25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

What, exactly, is integrity?

Put simply, and somewhat inefficiently, integrity is ‘moral uprightness,’ or unwavering honesty.  Perhaps a more refined definition would be to say that integrity is the moral fortitude to do what’s right, even in the face of hardship, up to and including severe personal loss, or even death!  A man who is truly of integrity is hard to come by; it’s harder still to live one’s life under such a strict code of ethics, and part of that difficulty comes from the challenge of defining without a shadow of a doubt what’s morally right.

In society, there are often many interpretations on any given subject, each of which would define what’s right in a different way.  A pro-life politician who became pregnant out of wedlock during her campaign and aborted the child would be considered of low integrity, by both sides of the argument!  However, were she to have carried the child to term, however difficult that made her campaign, it would be inarguable that she had integrity in this specific area.  She knew what her morals were, and she stuck to them; and even though she ‘did the right thing’ in her world-view, someone who is pro-choice may not find her of high integrity, simply because of a difference of morals.

So how do we maintain integrity?  How do we know what’s right, and what’s wrong?  The simple, ‘go to’ answer, of course, is the Bible. Proverbs is full of wisdom, and the Gospels are too; you can find an answer for just about any situation, and if you really distill your particular situation down to it’s core question, you will find guidance.   There’s even more though; we have an inherent knowledge of right and wrong, and it’s part of God’s General Revelation.

If you want to be an individual of integrity, turn to the Lord and let Him guide your steps!