Integrity: The Seamless Connection

Written by the owner of this blog.
Published in Leadership Insight (An AG Malaysia Publication)

"The world is filled with people who make lots of money in questionable ways" drug dealers, con artists, dishonest business men, politicians on the take, and so on. If you measure success simply by how much money you make, then you must realize that people who accumulate riches in a dishonest manner lack something that is the true mark of success "character and integrity."
Glenn Cutforth.

Integer, the Latin root means "whole" or "complete" and integeritas means soundness. When a person is described as having integrity, it speaks volumes about that person. It is a word coveted by many but not easily attained. For the "man of the cloth," this character quality is of utmost importance for his personal life and ministry. For him (or her), integrity is beyond intellectual capabilities. Integrity must be lived out through the everyday realities of life.

To nurture this important character quality, it must begin with the aspiration towards wholeness. This concept of wholeness is the seamless connection of the minister's private and public lives, which concur with their spiritual, emotional and cognitive spheres. It is not uncommon for people to compartmentalize the domain of their public, private and spiritual lives and make them mutually exclusive. In reality these attempts are untenable. Stephen Covey is right to observe the inseparable connection between public victory and private victory. Jesus emphatically alluded to the fact that we must love God with our whole being (Luke 10:27). As Christian leaders we can indulge in the Jekyll and Hyde syndrome and go through life with split personalities. As ministers, we are called to aspire and pursue wholeness in every aspect of our lives.

This aspiration leads us to the next step in our quest for wholeness, constancy or being consistent. Like a baby to a cradle is integrity to constancy. We are to live such good lives that through our deeds people will see the goodness of God (1 Peter 2:12). We are to live out what we preach. Wholeness is nurtured through living out our everyday lives with a constancy that does not compromise our convictions, which are based upon scripture. Wholeness is demonstrated by our steadfast faith in Christ even if we do not see the outcomes. Many are tempted to compromise integrity for the exciting adrenalin rush of sparkling results and achievements. So often have we looked for the "extraordinary" that we forget to live out the consistent "ordinary." It is in the consistent ordinary that our core values are shaped. Constancy means taking little steps of doing what is right even if it means going against the tide of the prevailing majority. This constant practice will give us the courage to do right in tough times. Jesus said that, Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much" (Luke 16:10).

The twin to constancy is commitment. A person cannot be consistent if he is not committed to a set of convictions. There are many sources that contribute to our convictions. The primary source, which our core values must rest on, is scripture. As we diligently study scripture, we will conduct our life in such a way that concurs with godly values. The secondary source from which our core values are derived is our movement's fundamental beliefs that Jesus is our Saviour, our Healer, our Baptizer and our soon-coming King.

As leaders, we have to see our lives as a journey of living out our convictions based on our faith in Christ. Therefore it is not a life of convenience. Convenience is from the stable of compromise. Convenience and integrity are at opposite poles. Therefore, our consistent commitment and our solid convictions will help us confront the waves of convenient, lackadaisical living and spiritual leadership. In a society consumed with speed and instant gratification, we are often pressured to make decisions that are based on short-term relevance rather than on long-term significance. What works for now conveniently becomes more important than what is true. So often the argument for the need for relevancy takes precedence over convictions. Don't get me wrong. Relevancy is good if used within context. But relevancy for the sake of convenience is something else. The challenge for the leader is to find the fine line that divides between context and convenience.

Integrity stakes its ground on truth. The price tag for integrity comes with it, a life of inconveniences, which to many is a seemingly unprogressive and boring life. Jesus was often pictured as counter-culture in the New Testament. When He walked on this earth, He was not just being a non-conformist, ultra conservative or outdated. He was and still is the epitome of truth; he lived and walked the truth. When Jesus walked on earth as a man, truth and His Father's will had precedence over all cultural and social attitudes that were in vogue.

The natural byproduct of a person of integrity is godly character or godliness. Ministry leadership is cradled on character more than on charisma. In our present superstar and celebrity culture, the façade (charisma and good looks) is more important than the substance. There is a Chinese proverb that says, "Often, we greet the outward adornment first, and then we greet the man (xian jing loh yi hou jing ren)". While character is our personality DNA, charisma is the packaging that projects our character. But character is not charisma, and charisma does not accurately project our character.

Godly character is synonymous with Christian wholeness and is the person's life message, written not on life manuals and guidebooks but on his heart. An authentic lifestyle that works out good deeds will leave behind footprints for others to follow. Principle-centeredness, as opposed to majority-centeredness, will govern his motivations and decisions. To be principle-centered does not mean being impractical. It means that truth (our principles of godliness) governs the practicalities of our lives and not the other way around. A person of integrity is a person who will not be held hostage by social demands and views. He does not bow to the pressure of unprincipled convenience. He does what is right and good in God's master plans and purposes.

This may be a modest attempt to define integrity but the aim of this short article is to stir up some reflective thoughts on this important topic. Just as life is multi-faceted, an exhaustive write-up on the topic like integrity is difficult. However this article does suggest that the calling to leadership, as William Law puts it, is "a serious call to a devout and holy life?". It exacts from us a necessary deepening devotion to God, an honest appraisal of our life and ministry and a desire to rightly represent God through our lives. We may not have arrived at perfection, but we must continue to aspire and work towards perfection and that is to diligently work at being a person of integrity.