Integrity, honor…Now, those are words you don’t hear much anymore. They have fallen out of vogue in favor of expedience. There was a time in our culture when they were some of the most highly valued attributes of men and women. Honor is a synonym for integrity. To have honor means that you have integrity. There was a time when if a gentleman gave you his ‘word of honor’ you could count on it. It was expected because gentlemen were expected to have integrity.
It meant that there was a common set of values that individuals in our society were expected to live up to. Though integrity is not necessarily a value connected to Biblical teachings…it is certainly found in them.
One definition of integrity relates to structure, to soundness. When the hull of a boat or ship is damaged it is said to have lost its’ integrity. If you were climbing on a cliff that lost its’ integrity you would likely lose your footing and fall because it couldn’t be counted on. In a similar way when a person lacks integrity we’re not sure we can’t count on them.
Over the decades as greed and self-centeredness have come to dominate American society, the idea that anything goes has eroded away the concept that there is a higher code of conduct, one that should guide our lives. Saying someone has integrity, that they are honorable is a way to say that you trust them to act or react in a way that is guided by a higher code of conduct. It is a way to say you know they won’t waver from their moral center.
When couples are married they vow, they give their word of honor, to be true to each other. When someone counts on another to be true to their vows they are assuming the other person is honorable, they are assuming that person has integrity.
The word honor is related to the word honesty. When someone is honest they are truthful about the past or the present. When someone is honorable they tell the truth about their behavior in the future. When an honorable man says he will do something you can count on it. That’s a part of honor, a part of integrity. He has bound his future conduct to his moral code.
We all have things that we believe…and things that we just think or say we believe. When tempted or tested in some way we prove what we really believe. Scripture tells us to ‘prove’ all things. To prove means to test. You can prove an axe you’ve just sharpened by chopping down a tree with it. When we’re proven, we find out what we really believe….we find where our true moral center is. Sometimes we don't know ourselves until we are proven.
There is something intrinsic in us that hopes others have integrity even if we don’t. We hope that people will live up to a higher standard because we need that. We need to believe it’s part of being human. Because we all draw from the well that is humanity…we are all partakers of the same attributes. Honor and integrity uplift us all.
Have you ever looked into the eyes of a child that looks up to you? They want you to behave honorably…they need you to. It assures them that you can be trusted to be true to a higher code. It is a foundation that makes them feel safe in your presence. It assures them that there is a higher way that they can aspire to and your living up to it reassures them that they can reach it. It appeals to their higher nature.
As Christians we have the ultimate example. Our Savior stepped out of eternity and partook of our nature. He drew from the well of humanity and did it as one of us, partly for us to see that it’s possible. He lived an unwavering honorable life that every Christian should aspire to. He let’s us know that we can trust Him. We can feel safe in His presence. He has appealed to our higher nature.
As humans we will fall, we will waiver from time to time. We are being proven here and now. What do we really believe? Where is our true moral center? Do you live your life in such a way that a child could look up to you and want to be like you?
Let’s bring back integrity as a value. Let’s expect it in our politicians and of each other. When someone asks if you are questioning their honor….tell them you're counting on it.
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