Integrity is choosing your thoughts and actions based on values rather than personal gain. Unknown
Today's quote is a foreign concept to most anyone who walks in their human nature with nothing else prompting them to defeat their human nature and live in their potential. (No human nature isn't our potential. It is wicked and deceitful. Click here for that proof text.)
Integrity is a conscious choice to sacrifice our entitlements and our justifications. Who says our ways aren't right? Sometimes they are but let me pose a situation of integrity before you and you will quickly see what I mean. This is a simple one that almost everyone can relate to at some point in their life.
You've got sick days at work and vacation days. You're out of vacation days but are taking a vacation and you book your flight a day earlier than you vacation really starts and say "I'll just call in sick." You have sick days so you'll take one of those. Two scenarios come from this. One is that your boss knows you are doing this and is fine with it no big deal. The other scenario is the one that I hear happens the most. You plan to call in sick, don't let your boss know, and leading up to the planned "sick" day you make comments and do things around your boss to make them think you are getting sick so when you do call in they don't question it. HMMMMMMMM.
I probably don't need to ask which one is the way of integrity and which one lacks it. We've all done that at least once, c'mon you know you have. But seeing it in black and white stings a bit doesn't? You can see, in black and white, how it lacks integrity.
Our desire for personal gain, if we allow it to, will override choices we could and should make based on integrity. How is the above example one about personal gain? Really? You can't see how? Oh I think you can. When we begin to desire the strong set of values we say we live by (but don't really) then we will begin to override our entitlements and justifications. And it's amazing what happens when we choose the way of integrity over our flesh. I believe we will find favor with others. I believe people will begin to treat us with respect and deference. I believe we will be more pleasant to be around even!
Try it. I dare you. Live a life of integrity.
Today's quote is a foreign concept to most anyone who walks in their human nature with nothing else prompting them to defeat their human nature and live in their potential. (No human nature isn't our potential. It is wicked and deceitful. Click here for that proof text.)
Integrity is a conscious choice to sacrifice our entitlements and our justifications. Who says our ways aren't right? Sometimes they are but let me pose a situation of integrity before you and you will quickly see what I mean. This is a simple one that almost everyone can relate to at some point in their life.
You've got sick days at work and vacation days. You're out of vacation days but are taking a vacation and you book your flight a day earlier than you vacation really starts and say "I'll just call in sick." You have sick days so you'll take one of those. Two scenarios come from this. One is that your boss knows you are doing this and is fine with it no big deal. The other scenario is the one that I hear happens the most. You plan to call in sick, don't let your boss know, and leading up to the planned "sick" day you make comments and do things around your boss to make them think you are getting sick so when you do call in they don't question it. HMMMMMMMM.
I probably don't need to ask which one is the way of integrity and which one lacks it. We've all done that at least once, c'mon you know you have. But seeing it in black and white stings a bit doesn't? You can see, in black and white, how it lacks integrity.
Our desire for personal gain, if we allow it to, will override choices we could and should make based on integrity. How is the above example one about personal gain? Really? You can't see how? Oh I think you can. When we begin to desire the strong set of values we say we live by (but don't really) then we will begin to override our entitlements and justifications. And it's amazing what happens when we choose the way of integrity over our flesh. I believe we will find favor with others. I believe people will begin to treat us with respect and deference. I believe we will be more pleasant to be around even!
Try it. I dare you. Live a life of integrity.
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