Intergrity

Integrity is a heart condition. As people running Christian businesses, we must detest and reject all forms of falsehood whilst embracing truth. When we tell lies or any other form of untruth, not only are we walking in the ways of the enemy, we are also letting down our armour and protection. Truth is one of the weapons of our warfare. That's why Jesus could say that the devil could find nothing in Him. The scriptures encourage us to let our yes be yes and our no be no. We live in a secular society where Christian values have been eroded. Thus there is more reason for us to stand up and be counted. When we practice Christian integrity, we build sound relationships of trust and confidence and also extend God's kingdom by being salt and light. However, the Christian standing on the rock will survive all the storms of life. A person of integrity will live a life based on spiritual principles. Kameel Majdali in his book Pass the salt: Biblical integrity today writes "Integrity speaks of a God-given, God-honouring completeness and wholeness. An individual with biblical integrity is a principled person who becomes salt and light by living according to God's word and walking in the Holy Spirit. The result is uprightness, sincerity, honesty and trustworthiness." I hope that this describes you. Psalm 15 outlines the lifestyle of a person of integrity, a person who walks blamelessly, a worker of righteousness. Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly And works righteousness. And speaks the truth in his heart, He who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbour, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a vile person is despised But he honours those who fear the Lord; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change; He who does not put out his money at usury, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent He who does these things shall never be moved. Our Godly nature God does not lie. It's not in His nature. (Num. 23:19). If we say we are His children who bear His nature (2Pet. 1:3-4), then lies should not be found in us. The scriptures make it clear that He desires truth in our innermost parts. "Lie not to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created us" (Col. 3:9). We are supposed to be salt and light, influencing the world (Matt. 5:13-14). When we tell lies as the world does, we begin to lose our saltiness and our ability to influence the business realm. When Jesus says Christians are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, He is talking about a people who live a way of life that outshines the things of the world - people who are trustworthy and represent Christ's power and purity. We need to live a life on integrity to live a life of relevance without compromise. Dare to be different. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. One person who demonstrated integrity was David. Even God attests to his integrity (1 Kings 14:8, 15:5, 11:4, 6 and Acts 4:32). God's promise to Solomon confirms this "Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My commands and My judgements, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised your father David saying, 'You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel'." Walking in integrity can result in generational blessings and has benefits both in this world and the one to come. I am not saying that it is easy to walk in integrity. On the contrary, it is easy to compromise and justify it. Sometimes it may not even concern big issues. Just the other day, I forgot to get some money from the bank and I had promised someone that her money would be ready that evening. All sorts of thoughts went through my head, including not opening the door when she called. Instead, I opened the door, faced her wrath, much as I had expected, felt uncomfortable all night and paid later. The situation has now been remedied but how easy it would have been to have compromised. Let's hold on to the principle of truth. The Holy Spirit has been given to us to help us. Where we have problems with this issue, we have a merciful God. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Desire to walk in the truth and see what God will do. So next time, when you are tempted to say the cheque is in the post or pay that bribe, remember there is a consequence. May God empower us to live according to His ways. Want to know more about how to run a Christian Business, why not sign up for our weekly newsletter. You can sign up at http://www.christianbusinessonthenet.com