Integrity…

Character, integrity, reputation and your word.

Weeks ago, I was confronted with a choice do I willing tell a white lie to have my dog groomed early or else do I do the right thing.

I choose to not tell a lie and wait until his groomer shop opened.  To me all I understand is my integrity as well as the reputation is all you have. Honesty is the “quality of being honest and having strong moral principle, moral uprightness.” According to a dictionary “Integrity means following your moral or ethical convictions and doing the right thing in all circumstances, even if no one is watching you.” “Having integrity means you are true to yourself and would do nothing that demeans or dishonors you.”

You cannot bring your money alongside you after you die but once I am gone everything that people will remember is exactly how I treated individuals and my integrity.

Life is funny in this manner. You can amass a quantity of wealth which can be destroyed in the flicker of the eye, but your good name is purely based on you. What you are saying and do, the way you honor your word, how you are treating people. That is what remains left behind.

Character means: “the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.”   My character consists of many things. What are you doing that makes you, you? Honesty, loyalty, persistence, perseverance and faithfulness these are favorable character traits that we can or may not have. Having a nice character is represented in actions and words.  I say actions first and foremost because any one can say everything, but good character follows through with actions.

Your word in the western movies was like money people trusted on somebody’s word.  We no longer go by an individual’s word when buying.  But that does not imply your word does not really matter.  So often individuals’ go depending on how they feel rather than honoring their word. When we will not honor what we are saying it harms confidence and the character.  The bible says, “honor your word even when it hurts.” This represents a faithfulness in action and integrity.

I would encourage each one of us reading this to become persons of integrity.