My Precious Integrity!

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Today's Passage: Job 2:9 (Message)
Memory Verse: Job 11:13-18 (Message)

How much value do you give integrity?  Is it a big thing for you, or just an ambiguous character definition?  Integrity is defined as clinging (you knew I was going there, didn't you?) to moral standards and ethical principles.  It's also defined as being whole; undimished, unimpaired, and in perfect condition.  Having integrity is setting one's mind to a Godly standard and subsequently producing the fruit of that standard.

In thinking about what it takes to walk in integrity, we have to understand 3 things: 1) integrity is not situational, 2) integrity is often not popular, and 3) integrity is always well- rewarded.  Let's re-visit our friend Job.  Although he lost everything and just about everyone he held dear, he still remained totally devoted to God.  He constantly reminded everyone that God gave him those things, so it was up to Him to take them away.  We could go through "minor" things, and God becomes the first person we blame.  We rarely consider the fact that we may be in a season of God's pruning.  We often forget that we recently prayed for Him to "have His way" in our lives, but when His way begins to be manifested, we change our minds.  In Job 2, God allows Satan to strike him with an incredible illness.  Job had sores and ulcers all over his body.  His wife sees him writhing in pain and she asks him "Still holding on to your precious integrity, are you?"    That leads to the second thing we've learned about integrity: it's seldom a popular thing.  Clinging totally to God causes us to make some harsh decisions.  We have to sometimes tell friends not to gossip to us.  We have to sometimes make sacrifices we wouldn't dream of in our old way of living. 

For instance, my wife went to the store one night and decided to buy my son a shirt he liked.   The shirt didn't have a hanger so she put it across her shoulder to keep it from getting dirty inside the basket.  After the clerk checked out all the stuff in the basket, my wife took her reciept and walked out.  She got all the way to her van before she dicovered she hadn't paid for the shirt.  She went back to the clerk and explained what happened.  The clerk almost cried as she explained how she would've lost her job if her drawer had come up short that night.  Then she thanked her several times.   That's never a popular decision to those not devoted to God.  But to the totally devoted, that decision would not have been about us; it would've been all about HIM.  Third, integrity always  pays off.  God has a heart for those who cling to Him.  Remember, His eyes search to and fro for those who are devoted to Him.  In Job 11, His word says: "Still, if you set your heart on God and reach out to him (cling), If you scrub your hands of sin and refuse to entertain evil in your home,You'll be able to face the world unashamed and keep a firm grip on life, guiltless and fearless. You'll forget your troubles; they'll be like old, faded photographs. Your world will be washed in sunshine, every shadow dispersed by dayspring.  Full of hope, you'll relax, confident again; you'll look around, sit back, and take it easy."   If that's what integrity gets me, I'll answer Job's wife's question with a resounding yes, I think I'll hang on to my precious integrity.

Prayer: Father, You require total devotion from those who walk in integrity before You.  As You've shown me from Job's life, it's never easy, but it's always rewarding.  Help me today to give my all no matter what the cost, but not just because of what I'll receive.  Let me make the sacrifice to stand for You just because You're worth it.  I love You forever.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.