The Unifying Power of Believing: Integrity, Part 1

You can't say two different things at the same time and expect to be trusted. A person of integrity cannot say one thing and do another. In my opinion, this has been the greatest problem in American politics over the past twenty to twenty-five years. And subsequently, it has filtered both down and through our society. Integrity is the context from which courage is formed. Integrity, like wholeness, is a byproduct of our spiritual integration. "Integrity" comes from the root word "integer," which means to be complete, indivisible -- in other words, to be whole.

In our culture we have put an increasing value on authenticity and a decreasing focus on integrity. We have disdain for the pretentious and we long for anything that is real. But we must not romanticize authenticity. When calling for authenticity, we need to take seriously the corruption of the human heart. If we are not careful, authentic can be the new word for arrogance. As long as we are true to ourselves, how can anyone fault us? Right? Authenticity then can establish a self-righteousness that justifies abuse.

If we are committed to being the genuine article, first we had better look closely at what we are made of. Authenticity without integrity can be both dangerous and even lethal. To be authentic when our hearts are dark is equivalent to opening Pandora's box. As much as we disdain the external constraints of society, humanity's best solution without God is to establish laws that restrain the evil that lurks within all of us.

To be authentic means literally that we are not false or copied, that we reflect the original. Our separation from God has made us into imitations, no longer reflections of the Creator. Although we are born of a template designed in the image of the Creator God, that template is broken and the reproduction flawed. We are classic counterfeits. We may pass as the real thing. We may even fool ourselves. Yet the evidence of our inauthenticity can be seen in our departure from the character of God. The first and most important step to becoming genuinely authentic is once again to be authenticated by the original designer. God longs to place within each of us a new heart, that reflects Him in both action and desire [Ezekiel 36:26]. The divine transformation that God seeks to bring is nothing less and nothing more than making us fully human.

While religion works to restrain our actions from the outside in, God always works from the inside out. Only this kind of change will last. It is in this state that we can become people of integrity. It is more than "what you see is what you get." Integrity is not just about who we are, but who we seek to become. Integrity is not about being flawless, but about being "falseless." Everything that God creates has integrity.

With integrity comes integration. We align what others see with who we really are becoming. And more importantly, we align who we really are with who God is. When Jesus prayed for His disciples to become one as He and the Father are one [John 17], the focus of His prayer was unity. Only in oneness with God do we find wholeness and integration.