Integrity & Congruence
Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. Psalm 86:11
According to some translations, the word "unite" means "undivided" and this key verse inspires me to think about integrity, which also refers to wholeness. Integer is the root word of the word "integrity", it means a whole number without fractions. Integrity, therefore, is the opposite of fragmentation and separateness. Integrity has a number of definitions, but it is often associated with honesty and truthfulness.
Integrity is more than a virtue or a personality trait. It is my belief that integrity, or the concept of "wholeness," is crucial to character and spiritual development, as well as to living a fulfilling life. James 1:8 says that “he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” The word double-minded means double hearts. I believe tensions, struggles and dilemmas in the Christian walk come from our inability to integrate our inner man into our lives. This results in us making life choices that are not aligned with God's truths based on our flesh.
Integrity requires congruence. The concept of congruence refers to aligning our values with the truth consistently. Integrity means being honest with the truth. Also, personal Integrity allows us to be honest with ourselves for our own wellbeing. One incongruent example is when someone is obviously upset, and another person asks "are you okay?", and the upset individual replies, “I am okay!
People who lack integrity tend to be dishonest, inconsistent, avoid accountability, blame others and lack the courage to stand up for their beliefs. These traits will negatively affect trust in relationships, cause uncertainty and confusion in life, and result in disillusionment and distortion of truth.
Integrity means being honest with ourselves and others about what we value and believe, and reflecting those beliefs in our behavior and actions. Because of that, God dislikes dishonesty and hypocrisy comes from a divided heart that is incongruent with truth. In the key verse today, David asked God to give him an undivided heart to fear His name. However, His son Solomon had a divided heart, so God split the kingdom between the north and south. Divided hearts have consequences.
Having complete integrity in our own strength is not possible. Let us learn from David, who asked God to teach him to walk His truth and fear Him with all his heart. May the Holy Spirit guide us into all truth so that we become whole and integrated into God's will.
Blessing prayer: God, teach me your way and crucify our flesh so we can walk in your truth. Strengthen our inner man so that we have an undivided heart. In Jesus' name, Amen
