Tag Archives: Integrity

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Two-Faced People

Watch Out For Hypocrites—And Don’t Become One

PREVIEW: Be wary of two-faced people. The Bible calls them hypocrites. And though we pretty much excuse their behavior and accept their ways in our culture, there is One who doesn’t! God’s righteous gaze cuts right through the syrupy surface of their lives with utter moral clarity and labels the wickedness of their hypocritical hearts, calling them what they truly are: Workers of iniquity. So be careful of them, and most of all, don’t be one of them!

Two-Faced People - Ray Noah

A Journey of Worship // Psalm 28:3

Do not drag me away with the wicked—with those who do evil—those who speak friendly words to their neighbors while planning evil in their hearts.

There is a whole category of people whose behavior, by and large we excuse. However, God doesn’t. He doesn’t find them acceptable; they and the unseen attitude of their hearts he finds deplorable. They are the kind of people who will say one thing to your face, then say another thing behind your back. And even worse to God than what they say about you is what they think about you in their hearts.

The psalmist says these kinds of people speak peace when they are in front of you, but even before you turn away from them, their minds are flooded with ill will toward you. The Message renders this verse in an unforgettable way:

Don’t shove me into the same jail cell with those crooks, with those who are full-time employees of evil. They talk a good line of “peace,” then moonlight for the Devil.

We might say they are two-faced. The Bible calls them hypocrites. And though we pretty much excuse their behavior and accept their ways in our culture, there is One who doesn’t! God’s righteous gaze cuts right through the syrupy surface of their lives with utter moral clarity and labels the wickedness of their hypocritical hearts, calling them what they truly are: Workers of iniquity.

Now I realize that at this point in your reading, you might be thinking this is anything but an encouraging little devotional thought for the day. And truthfully, it is not. Rather, this is an exhortation. And the exhortation I have for you is twofold:

One, it is most likely that you will rub shoulders today with the kind of people David describes in this psalm. Be careful of them. Discern their hypocritical hearts, and don’t be tainted by their iniquitous ways. If you allow them into your inner circle, they will ensnare you. So be careful.

And two, don’t be one of them. It is so easy to fall into this kind of two-faced living. Ask God to keep you from hypocrisy. Don’t fall into the trap of saying one thing but thinking another in your heart. Ask God for integrity of word and thought.

That’s what David prayed: Keep me from them, and keep me from being one of them. I hope you will join me and pray that, too!

My Offering of Worship: Did this devotional prick your conscience at all? If it did, if you have spoken one way to another then said something quite the opposite behind their back, or thought the opposite in your heart, then admit your sin to God, ask for his forgiveness, then seek his daily empowerment to live in complete integrity.

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Nothing To Hide, Nothing To Fear

Pursue Personal Integrity

SYNOPSIS: The person who values and practices integrity will live with confidence, no matter what! They can expect to live under the blessing and favor of God. They will be unburdened from the pending doom of discovery. And at the end of their days, they will be able to look back with satisfaction on a life of no regrets. Integrity! It’s not always the easy way. It’s not always the way that will bring popularity and promotion. But in the end, it is the only life that can stand before the All-knowing Judge.

Nothing to Fear

Moments With God // Proverbs 10:9

Honesty lives confident and carefree, but Shifty is sure to be exposed.

Like my mom, your mom probably reminded you from time to time that “honesty is the best policy.” That value was drilled into in us from the very beginning in our homes. And over the years, whether we were living it out or suffering the consequences of violating it, we found that practicing honesty always resulted in what was best for us. Honesty wasn’t always the easy road to travel; in fact, sometimes being honest had some unpleasant short-term consequences. But in the long run, telling the truth always proved to be right.

The Watchman Examiner once reported that when Senator Henry Clay was about to introduce a potentially unpopular bill in back in the 1800’s, a friend said, “If you do, Clay, it will kill your chance for the presidency.” Clay asked, “but is the measure right?” And on being assured it was right, Clay said, “I would rather be right than be president.” I

That is the kind of character we all admire and long for in our leaders.

Proverbs calls that being a person of integrity. Integrity is a word that is talked about a great deal in our society, but just what is it? The dictionary defines it as fidelity to moral principles; honesty; soundness; completeness. A great working definition of integrity is who you are when no one is looking. The British poet Thomas Babington Macaulay noted, “The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do, if he knew he would never be found out.”

The word integrity comes from the word integer, which refers to a whole number. It is being a whole person. It means there is a congruence between what you say you believe and how you actually live. It is the marriage of what you say and what you do.

Proverbs 10:9 says that living as a person of integrity carries with it the priceless benefit of security: “The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.” Or, as the Message says, “Honesty lives confident and carefree.” When you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.

Integrity…honesty…wholeness! What a tremendous way to live. The person who values and practices integrity will live with confidence, no matter what! They can expect to live under the blessing and favor of God. They will be unburdened from the pending doom of discovery. And at the end of their days, they will be able to look back with satisfaction on a life of no regrets.

Integrity! It’s not always the easy way. It’s not always the way that will bring popularity and promotion. But in the end, it is the only life that can stand before the All-knowing Judge.

Take A Moment: Be honest! Is there anything you would change about you — attitudes, thoughts, actions — if it was exposed to the light of public view? Why not go ahead and tackle those things before they’re exposed on the Day of Accounting!

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Selective Outrage – And What It Says About Us

Live By God's Unchanging Truth

Moral outrage that is not based in any kind of higher, propositional and immutable moral truth might be real, but it is wrong. It is selective, inconsistent and hypocritical—and ultimately dangerous. That is why God calls us to live by his unchanging truth.

The Journey// Focus: Judges 20:5-7

The Levite, the husband of the woman who had been murdered, said, “My concubine and I came to spend the night in Gibeah, a town that belongs to the people of Benjamin. That night some of the leading citizens of Gibeah surrounded the house, planning to kill me, and they raped my concubine until she was dead. So I cut her body into twelve pieces and sent the pieces throughout the territory assigned to Israel, for these men have committed a terrible and shameful crime. Now then, all of you—the entire community of Israel—must decide here and now what should be done about this!”

If you have been following this story from Judges 19, you have to question the outrage of this Levite. It seems a bit manufactured. After all, he is the one who pushed his wife out the door and into the waiting arms of the sexual perverts of Gibeah, who brutalized her throughout the night until she died. He cowardly offered her up to save his own skin, showing no concern for her safety, much less her dignity as a precious human being. Then the next morning when he walked out the door and saw her lying there, he callously told her to get up and get moving. If you dare, read the story in Judges 19:25-29—but be warned, it will turn your stomach.

But wait, there’s more. The Levite then takes the dead body of his wife, a concubine, and cuts her into twelve pieces, sending a part to each of the twelve tribes of Israel in order to manufacture national outrage over what has been done to him. At this point, it is no surprise to us that he had considered her nothing more than property—if that. To him, she was nothing more than trash.

Why the selective outrage? Isn’t this the height of hypocrisy? Of course it is. And it is the predictable result of people following a philosophy of moral relativism. When people have no controlling moral authority to keep them between the rails of decency and civility, they will do what seems right in their own eyes—which will habitually be so wrong. Ultimately they will be anything but decent and civil. In one moment, they will do things and allow things that are beyond the pail without batting an eye. Then in the next moment, they will blow a gasket in anger at what someone has done to them. Even though they feign tolerance of what somebody else thinks is right, they become insanely intolerant when that person’s thinking becomes action that personally affects them.

The anger is selective; the wrath is manufactured. Make no mistake: it is real, but it is wrong. It is wrong in the sense that the moral outrage is not rooted in any kind of higher propositional and immutable moral truth. If truth is relative, then to be consistent, nothing can be consistently wrong. It might be wrong at this moment, but not in the next. At the end of the day, moral relativism is absurd. That is why this man’s outrage—and that of the nation—was hypocritically and fundamentally flawed. It was selective, inconsistent, and disengaged from God’s unchanging law. In a very real sense, it was worthless. And most likely, the guilt of the perverts of Gibeah that he was proclaiming was really the guilt he felt about his own immoral behavior.

That is what happens when a society thinks they can do better than God. Isn’t that what we see in our society today? We don’t mind aborting babies in the name of choice but will riot in the streets over genetically modified wheat. Crazy, huh. Not that GMO’s are right, but taking life in the name of freedom to choose what happens to your own body is akin to what Jesus described as “straining at a gnat but swallowing a camel.” (Matthew 23:24)

Ok, enough of using our relativistic culture as a punching bag—although it deserves it. What about us? Do we do the same? Do we cluck our tongues in disgust at sex trafficking but consume porn in private? Do we gripe about the breakdown of society but tolerate divorce in the church? Do we decry world hunger yet ignore the needs of the poor in our own community?

I could go on and on, but the simple answer to all of the above examples is, “yes we do!” The point I want to make is this: whenever you begin to get upset at something, check yourself for personal consistency. Is your outrage selective? Is your disgust hypocritical?

Probably! That doesn’t make you an irredeemable human being. It just reveals that you are a sinner in desperate need of God’s grace. And it means that God is calling you by the power of the Holy Spirit to walk in a manner worthy of your calling as a redeemed child of God—consistently submitted to him.

The world is now famous for manufactured outrage. Don’t be of that tribe!

Going Deeper: Wherever you are feeling anger, take a look at what God is revealing in your own life. He is calling you to repent and to consistently surrender to himself.

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Flawed But Forgiven

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 41:1-13
Focus: Psalm 41:4,12

O LORD, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you…
In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever.

The juxtaposition of these two verses presents a problematic incongruence. It appears that David is speaking out of both sides of his mouth. On the one hand, he is connecting his personal sin with physical malady and public hostility. But on the other hand, he claims that it is his personal integrity that gives him favored status before the Almighty.

However, there is no incongruence for David—or for you and me. Yes, we are all helplessly flawed, but there is hope! You see, we can also be fully forgiven, and as a result, live under the high favor of God, if we are sincerely repentant for our sinfulness.

Living within God’s favor is not about sinless perfection. None of us will reach that lofty plane in this life. I wish we could—I especially wish I could. But because I have been fundamentally infected with sin, that will not happen until I reach heaven. I—and you—will continue to, as a good friend of mine was fond of saying, “dip ourselves in the yogurt” of sin until the day we die. And that sin will bring uncomfortable if not outright tragic consequences into our lives.

So how then can we claim a personal integrity that invites the attention, honor and favor of God? I would suggest there are three characteristics we can, and should cultivate, as David did, that will allow us as flawed people to be fully forgiven and highly favored:

First, we must cultivate self-awareness. Not an over-indulgence in introspection and self-absorption, but a healthy consciousness of both our strengths and weaknesses. I was recently speaking with a person about a relational crisis they were experiencing, and they were pouring out their heart about how difficult the other person was. When I asked them to share what flaws they brought into the troubled mix, I got a blank stare and an admission that they couldn’t think of any. That is not all that uncommon in troubled relationships. Although people are not always willing to be as honest as that person I had interviewed, many times they are simply unaware or unwilling to consider the pain and problems they are contributing to the situation. David was incredibly self-aware…and he often asked God to make him even more aware, painfully aware of his own flaws (see Psalms 26:2, 139:23-24). Maybe you should too!

Second, we must cultivate godly sorrow. Not self-pity, but godly sorrow. Self-pity leads only to depression; self-awareness without sorrow for sin brings only hopelessness, unproductive navel-gazing, and a pessimistic approach to life. However, as the Apostle Paul taught in II Corinthians 7:10-11, godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, while worldly sorrow brings only death. I think that was the secret to a seriously flawed David’s favor with God—he experienced deep sorrow for his sins. Perhaps we should ask God to break our hearts quickly anytime we think, say or do anything that breaks his heart.

And third, self-awareness and godly sorrow must lead to sincere repentance. I’m not taking about feeling bad that we’ve been caught in a goof or are having to “pay the piper” for our imperfections. I’m talking about confessing our offense, making amends when we should and can, and turning from our sinful actions by walking an opposition line toward holiness and kingdom fruitfulness.

Well, that’s a mouthful—but I think you get the picture. That’s how you can be a “deeply flawed person of integrity” and live under the full forgiveness and high favor of the Almighty. And hallelujah, that is only possible with the God we serve!

__________________

“God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.” (Augustine)

 

Making Life Work: Don’t wait another moment in going before God and asking him to reveal sin, both known and unknown, in your life. Then, repent of it, ask him to remove it, and purpose in your heart, with his help, to walk in integrity before him.

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How To Live A Blessable Life

Making Life Work
Read: Psalm 15
Focus: Psalm 15:1

“Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?”

What is the life God blesses? David couldn’t have spelled it out any clearer than in Psalm 15: It is the life of integrity! The person of complete integrity, which I realize, in the truest sense is redundant—spiritual, relational, financial, moral, intellectual, physical integrity—is the one upon whom God’s favor, power and provision will rest.

Now integrity is a word that gets thrown around a great deal these days—and that’s part of the problem: It gets thrown around instead of lived out. So just what is integrity? I think the simplest and best definition I know is this: The congruence of what you believe with how you behave. For the Christian, it is the marriage of Biblical values, principles and world-view with our moment-by-moment attitudes and actions. In short, it is to practice what we preach at all times and under every circumstance.

David provides some very specific areas of integrity that are absolutely critical to living under the blessing of God:

  • Moral Purity—Verse 2: “He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous.”
  • Compassionate Honesty—Verse 2: “who speaks the truth from his heart.”
  • Rejection of Destructive Opinion—Verse 3: “and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman.”
  • Revulsion of Evil People—Verse 4: “who despises a vile man.”
  • Promotion of Good People—Verse 4: “but honors those who fear the LORD.”
  • Ruthless Trustworthiness—Verse 4: “who keeps his oath when it hurts.”
  • Risky Generosity—Verse 5: “who lends his money without usury.”
  • Rigid Honor—Verse 5: “and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.”

Any person who lives organically, unbendingly and consistently this way will themselves be living, as verse 5 concludes, in the stability and security of the palm of the Heavenly Father’s hand: “He who does these things will never be shaken.”

The tides of an increasingly nasty culture and the natural drift of our own falleness will make living out this kind integrity extremely difficult. We will have to fight opposite currents every day, if not every moment of our lives. But such a well-lived life will be worth it along the way and at the end of our journey. It is the only way to live!

Besides, if we invite him, Better Hands will guide and empower us on the voyage!

__________________

“Character in a saint means the disposition of Jesus Christ persistently manifested.” (Oswald Chambers)

 

Making Life Work: Any person who lives organically, unbendingly and consistently this way will themselves live, as verse 5 concludes, in the stability and security of the palm of the Heavenly Father’s hand: “He who does these things will never be shaken.” Take a moment to resubmit your life and your ways to those Heavenly Hands!

 

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Integrity

Reflect:
Daniel 6:1-28

“‘O king, live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king. The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.” ~Daniel 6:21-23

Robert Freeman wrote, “Character is not made in a crisis—it is only exhibited.” That is so true, and the great Old Testament character Daniel is Exhibit A of that truth. Daniel faced an imminent crisis of epic proportions—he was thrown into a den full of hungry lions—simply because of the daily practice of his faith in God. And you know the rest of the story: God yet again miraculously delivered this faithful old saint from his dilemma, exposed and deposed the enemies who put him there, and solidified Daniel’s reputation for integrity and place of influence in the government of the Medes and the Persians.

One of the salient points of this story is one that desperately needs to be considered in our day—by politicians, pastors, parents and simple salt-of-the-earth people like you and me. It is simply but profoundly this:

Daniel did not gain his famous integrity because of the lions’ den, the lions’ den was simply the stage on which his integrity was displayed.

Daniel’s courage under fire, his resolute response in the face of death, and uncompromising commitment to godliness under the pressure of accusation was based on a lifetime of living out in real life what he believed in his heart. As you read this story, you will notice four unimpeachable character qualities in Daniel:

Daniel was flawless in his work. Verses 3-4 tells us, “Now Daniel so distinguished himself…by his exceptional qualities. [They] tried to find grounds for charges against him in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so.” Daniel’s enemies looked for a crack, but couldn’t find one in his conduct.

Daniel was faultless in his integrity. Verse 4 says, “They could find no corruption in him. ‘We’ll never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.’” His integrity was without question.

Daniel was fervent in his prayers. Verse 10 reveals, “three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to God…”

Daniel was faithful to his God. In verses 21-23, Daniel answered, “‘My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouth of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I done any wrong before you, O king. The king was overjoyed and he gave orders for Daniel to be lifted out of the den. And when he was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted his God.”

Daniel’s courageous response to the lion’s den was rooted in his rock-solid character. But not only that, his response was also calculated. It was deliberate and thought out. It was a conscious, premeditated act of faith. When he heard the king’s edict banning prayer to God, verse 10 says, “Daniel went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to the God of heaven.” Daniel clearly understood that the practice of his faith would land him in trouble.

And you will also notice that Daniel’s courageous and calculated faith was also consistent. The end of verse 10 reveals a very significant truth about the exercise of Daniel’s faith: “He prayed…just as he had before.” Daniel wasn’t doing something that he hadn’t done all along. He didn’t wait until the crisis arrived to pull a response of faith out of the hat; he just did what was consistent with his walk with God. Daniel demonstrated what had been growing within all along—courageous, calculated, consistent character!

What was the result of Daniel’s courageous integrity? God displayed his incredible glory, a nation witnessed an undeniable miracle, and Daniel came away with a testimony for the ages.

By definition, maintaining your integrity will be difficult, but at the end of the day, it will be worth every ounce of pain and every personal sacrifice that it requires—even standing before a den full of lions licking their chops at the thought of you being their dinner. And when you face your lions’ den—and you will, whatever your lion’s den may be—with courage and conviction, God gets the glory and you will come away with an incredible testimony!

“If you have run with the footmen and they have tired you out, then how can you compete with the horses? If you fall down in the land of peace, how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?” ~Jeremiah 12:5

Reflect and Apply: Make sure you work on your integrity before you get to your lions’ den. How? It is not easy; it will take a lifetime of effort. But a good place to start is by going to God and asking for his help—to purify your character, to infuse you with courage, and to strengthen you to consistently display pure and courageous integrity.

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Practice What You Preach

5×5×5 Bible Plan

Read: Titus 2
Meditation: Titus 2:7

“Let everything you do reflect the integrity and seriousness of your teaching.”

Shift Your Focus… The key to stress-free living, an effective witness, and authentic discipleship is the convergence of your beliefs and your behavior. Conversely, the number one source of stress in your life, the single greatest destroyer of your witness, and the thing that impedes your walk with Christ as a disciple as much as anything are incongruent values—when your beliefs don’t match your behavior.

That’s why Paul is challenging Titus to practice what he is preaching. That’s your call as well.  If you are going to talk the talk, then you ought to walk the walk. Christ followers who don’t are constantly trying to cover for their incongruent lives, and that’s the primary reason for why they live under so much stress. Likewise, their inconsistent and incongruent living exposes them as hypocrites. When they say one thing but do another, their witness becomes worthless. Furthermore, the incongruence between their beliefs and their behavior critically damages their discipleship by violating the clear demand of Jesus that “if you love me, do what I say!”

Simply live out in your everyday life what you believe in your heart and you will live a great and God-honoring life. You will, as Paul says in verse 10, make your belief in God your Savior “attractive in every way.”

  • If you believe in holiness, put off sinful living.
  • If you believe in justice, practice fairness in all you do.
  • If you believe in self-control, don’t get drunk.
  • If you believe in purity, stay away from pornography.
  • If you love the lost, witness to them.
  • If you love the poor, serve them.
  • If you love the body of Christ, show up to church.
  • If you love God, start tithing.
  • If you love your spouse, show it.
  • If you love your parents, honor them.
  • If you love your neighbor, don’t gossip about them.
  • If you love yourself, eat right and exercise a little.
  • If you love the Bible, read it.
  • If you want less stress, live out your beliefs.
  • If you want to point people to Christ, practice what you preach.
  • If you want to be a disciple, do what Jesus commanded.

In everything you do, reflect the convergence of your belief with your behavior!

“I cannot find language of sufficient energy to convey my sense of the sacredness of private integrity.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Prayer… Dear Lord, give me the grace and strength to do what I believe. May there always be integrity in my walk and congruence between my beliefs and my behavior. In everything I do, may I be pleasing to you and a living witness to a lost world of a loving God.