Pure Strength

In my half-century-plus of life, I have watched movements and men come and go. Fads in fashion as well as issues are like vapors that appear for a little while and then vanish away. Men’s stars have risen and fallen quickly and hard, many times leaving a great deal of damage. Growing up in and around the Christian ministry, my stepfather being a pastor, and being associated with ministers and ministries for most of my life, I have seen the good, bad, and ugly. I watched men through the years who could captivate crowds with their dynamic preaching, mesmerizing people through emotional fervor, rhetorical skill, and/or theological sophistication. As a young man I remember desiring to be like many of these men. But then I learned what would eventually become apparent to all: many of these men lived duplicitous lives. Some men told outright lies about their lives to make their testimonies more exciting. Others used their magnetism to engage in adultery with multiple women. Still others’ families were in absolute shambles while they were out “saving the world.”

I was disillusioned and sometimes discouraged.

But there are others; men who, while possibly well-known, are faithful. Faithfulness, not fame, is their top priority. I know men who, though tempted with money and women, hold the line. Some you would know. Some may never be well-known. They plod along day by day. Even though they deeply care about cultural issues, they are not ensnared by the emotional hype of the issues du jour. They are not the social media provocateurs who flash their incendiary statements or memes like an Instagram model flashes her nudity, grasping for quick attention and measuring success by the number of reactions. Rather, they are solid men, men of integrity, who do the right thing even when no one is watching.

Integrity is not sexy, but it is attractive. It is attractive because it is strong and with that strength comes stability and security, not only for the integrous man but also for those in relationship with him.

Solomon calls his son to be a man of integrity. The Hebrew word that is sometimes translated “integrity” and other times translated “blameless” is used fifteen times in Proverbs, fourteen of which speak of the wise man’s character. This word is not unique to Solomon. God finds men such as Noah (Gen 6.9), Jacob (Gen 25.27), and Job (1.1) to be men of integrity. Abraham is called to walk before God in integrity (Gen 17.1). The people of Israel were to be integrous before Yahweh their God (Dt 18.13). Animals brought for offerings were to have integrity, to be without spot or blemish (passim Exodus; Leviticus). God and his work are integrous (Dt 32.4).

Integrity is more than “not lying” (even though it is not less). Integrity is purity. This purity is the strength of the character of a person or an object. Wood, metal, and structures either have or lack integrity. If there is rot in wood, air pockets in metal, or structural deficiencies in a building, they lack integrity. If they lack integrity, then they lack strength and can’t be trusted. When they are put to the test, their lack of integrity will become evident to all.

The same is true for people. Integrity is strength of character. Where it is absent, a man can’t be trusted. He will crack under pressure.

All of us have some lack of integrity in that sinful impurities remain in our hearts. There are structural deficiencies that must be shored up through the mortification of sin in the pursuit of holiness. This is the work we commonly call sanctification. Becoming holy, being purified, is becoming people of integrity.

Even though sin remains in us and will remain until we die, we can still be people of integrity just as sinful Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and Job were men of integrity. God measures integrity by covenant loyalty. This loyalty involves dealing with sin in the way he prescribes, accepting his provision for its forgiveness and mortification. Single-hearted allegiance to God and his covenant is integrity in the eyes of God, and his eyes are all that matter.

Integrity is not a superficial technique or a hack, something bolted on to our person that can be put on and off with little to no consequence. Integrity is a being fully human. Created in the image of Integrity, the Pure One in whom there is no deficiency, we are only fully human when our character is integrous. The lack of integrity means that our fundamental constitution as humans is compromised, making us weak and, therefore, untrustworthy. The lack of integrity makes us incapable of fulfilling our purpose because we ourselves and everything that we seek to build lack structural integrity and will collapse. We see this happen in this life with hypocrites being exposed, but this is only a foretaste of what will happen at the final judgment when all secrets are revealed.

To know whether or not you are a man or woman of integrity, you must evaluate your character when it is put to the test. These tests may involve what you do when no one is looking, when you have free rein to do what you want. Where do your affections draw you? What do you do? What is revealed in the daily pressures in your relationships at home with your spouse, children, or parents? Your online presence may be strong, but are you faithful in the mundane? Do you compromise at work, whether cheating your boss, your employees, or your customers by being a slacker? Does social pressure from friends, family, or even people you deem to be important on social media make you compromise what you know is right?

No matter how strong you may appear before others, if you lack integrity, you are weak. Forget hacks and quick grasping for attention. Pull back and focus on being a man or woman of integrity. It will save your life.