Integrity, say what?

Why do good things happen to bad people? That is the question of the day. As many of you know, I recently moved to Midland, and had a difficult time finding a job. I did land one with a regional medical school, part of a large university, which is an excellent school and one that I hold in high esteem.

Sometimes, people get jobs of which they are not qualified for, and they get promoted and have no management skills. I am micromanaged to the max, and harassed about every move I make.

After wrestling with this person, my supervisor, it has become clear to me through the Holy Spirit, all I can do is take care of me, and make sure what I do when no one is watching is the same thing I would do when someone is watching.

Today, this devotion from The Vine, by Bob Gass, arrived in my inbox. It spoke to my heart about the importance of only worrying about me, my actions, and my thoughts.

Sure, I hope my supervisor gets hers someday, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Rebuilding Your Integrity!

Let me be weighed on honest scales, that God may know my integrity. Job 31:6

Integrity. It's not a word you hear much nowadays. Bill Hybels says, "People who never use the word...look around them at promiscuity...abortion ...sexually transmitted diseases, and mourn its passing. They see officials taking bribes, business leaders demanding kickbacks...investors turning inside information into untold wealth, and they lament the demise of integrity. They read about battered wives, jobless husbands and abused children, and wonder what happened to caring."

Unlike your reputation, that is how others see you, integrity is who you are when they're not looking. Listen: "The integrity of the upright shall guide them" ( Proverbs 11:3). What does that mean? Rebuilding your integrity means acknowledging, "Often my thoughts aren't fit to print," or, "I've hurt that person, I need to go back and make things right," or, "I've cheated on my taxes and I need to make restitution." (It's estimated that 50 percent of evangelical Christians fudge on their tax returns).

After Zacchaeus met Jesus he said, "If I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount" ( Luke 19:8 NIV). Integrity doesn't stop with regret, seek to minimize painful consequences, or attempt damage control. It calls for honest repentance, making amends when possible and living in an accountable way that guarantees you'll do things differently in the future. Job said, "Does He not see my ways...If I have walked with falsehood, or my foot has hastened to deceit? Let me be weighed on honest scales, that God may know my integrity."