Integrity
I just read Genesis 39-the story about Joseph and how he refuses to sleep with Potiphar's wife, but then when she flips the story, he gets thrown in jail. The devotional for this passage was very helpful and helped me put a couple of things into perspective. The very last sentence in the devotional was, "Integrity's road map to success does not contain detours. Doing the right thing (no matter what the cost may be) is a reward in itself". Immediately after reading that, I thought of Galations 5:22-23 and wondered, "is this how God defines 'integrity'?" My curiosity was provoked and I looked the word "integrity" in Webster's New World College Dictionary and found these definitions:
1. the quality or state of being complete; unbroken condition; wholeness; entirety
2. the quality or state of being unimpaired; perfect condition; soundness
3. the quality or state of being of sound moral principle; uprightness honesty, and sincerity
Of course Galations 5:22-23 is how He defines integrity! I think what makes this such an exciting find for me is that I remember a couple years ago, flipping through sample college application essays or scholarship essay questions and seeing, "What's your definition of integrity?" and I just skipped those, because I wasn't sure what to say. I honestly had no real idea. I mean I could say what was right and wrong, but I couldn't piece it all together into a solid definition of real, raw integrity. I think a lot of people don't really know how to answer the question, no matter their beliefs, and I've been reading these books, written in ancient times, for class with people trying to figure it out, too, but still, nothing. And here's the answer, right in front of all us whose been trying to wrestle with this question and come up with a concrete definition, and it's all according to God, in a sentence or two. I'm amazed...
1. the quality or state of being complete; unbroken condition; wholeness; entirety
2. the quality or state of being unimpaired; perfect condition; soundness
3. the quality or state of being of sound moral principle; uprightness honesty, and sincerity
Of course Galations 5:22-23 is how He defines integrity! I think what makes this such an exciting find for me is that I remember a couple years ago, flipping through sample college application essays or scholarship essay questions and seeing, "What's your definition of integrity?" and I just skipped those, because I wasn't sure what to say. I honestly had no real idea. I mean I could say what was right and wrong, but I couldn't piece it all together into a solid definition of real, raw integrity. I think a lot of people don't really know how to answer the question, no matter their beliefs, and I've been reading these books, written in ancient times, for class with people trying to figure it out, too, but still, nothing. And here's the answer, right in front of all us whose been trying to wrestle with this question and come up with a concrete definition, and it's all according to God, in a sentence or two. I'm amazed...
