Six Ways to Work on Your Integrity
By Rick Warren
“We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open.” 2 Corinthians 4:2 (MSG)
Integrity demands that every area of your life be treated with the same intensity. You have the same commitment to excellence in your marriage as you do in your career. You have the same commitment to excellence in ministry as you do in your parenting.
Let me give you six ways you can work this week to become a person of integrity. You become a person of integrity by:
1. Keeping your promises.
People of integrity keep their word. If they say they’ll do it, they do it. If they say they’ll be there, they show up. The Bible says in Proverbs 25:14, “People who promise things that they never give are like clouds and wind that bring no rain” (GNT).
2. Paying your bills.
You may not think this is a big deal, but it’s a big deal to God. Do you spend more money than you make? That is a lack of integrity. Do you get yourself in debt for things that you can’t pay off? That is a lack of integrity. Psalm 37:21 says, “The wicked borrow and never pay back” (GNT).
3. Refusing to gossip.
God is looking for men and women of integrity who know how to keep a secret and not pass it around on social media. Don’t talk about people behind their back. Don’t even listen to that stuff, because a “gossip can’t be trusted with a secret, but someone of integrity won’t violate a confidence” (Proverbs 11:13 MSG).
4. Faithfully tithing.
Wherever you put your money first is what’s most important to you. The Bible says, “Is it right for a person to cheat God? Of course not, yet you are cheating me. ‘How?’ you ask. In the matter of tithes and offerings . . . Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple . . . Put me to the test and you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour out on you in abundance all kinds of good things” (Malachi 3:8, 10 GNT).
5. Doing your best at work.
Colossians 3:23 says, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (NLT). If you’re a believer, your real boss is God, and whether anybody else sees your work, God does.
6. Being real with others.
A person of integrity doesn’t act one way in church and another way at work and another way on the golf course. “We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open” (2 Corinthians 4:2 MSG).
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