One of the great needs in the ministry today is that God's ministers walk in integrity. He has called us to be different from the world; not so much in our appearance, but in our character. Since the world is so lacking in integrity, when we show integrity in our lives, it sets us apart from the world and helps demonstrate the character of our God.

The question then is, what is integrity? Everyone can probably give a definition of integrity and they'll probably all be different in some way or another.

The dictionary says that integrity is "the quality or state of being of sound moral principle; uprightness, honesty, and sincerity." Okay, so integrity has to do with being moral, so now we need to see what moral means. Again, according to the dictionary moral means "capable of making the distinction between, right and wrong in conduct." That's man's definition, but what about God's?

Integrity is doing what God would say is the right thing, even if it costs you. It means obeying God's law, speaking only truth, and putting the other person ahead of yourself. It means displaying the character of God in your daily walk.

• A man of integrity will always tell the truth, even if it makes him look bad.

• A man of integrity will never take something that doesn't belong to him, even if there is an implied permission to do so, or it is "commonly understood" to do so.

• A man of integrity will go back to a store to return the change if they give him too much.

• A man of integrity will look for the owner of lost money instead of putting it in his own pocket.

• A man of integrity would rather be cheated than allow another to be cheated in a business deal.

• A man of integrity do what he says he'll do, even if it is difficult to do so.

• A man of integrity will be where he says he'll be, even if he has a problem doing so. If he can't be there, he will call beforehand to let the other part know.

• A man of integrity will put the needs of others before his own.

• A man of integrity will "turn the other cheek" rather than hurt the other person.

A man of integrity would rather die than deny, or turn away from, his integrity. Job said: "I will never admit you are in the right; till I die, I will not deny my integrity" (Job 27:5). All through Job's ordeal, he was given many opportunities and temptations to deny God. Yet in all this, the Bible says he "sinned not." Why? Because even in the midst of torment, Job held on to his integrity.

God recognized Job's integrity and said to Satan "And he (Job) still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason" (Job 2:3).

If someone has integrity, you can count on them in whatever situation. Why? Not because they'll do what you want, but they'll do the right thing, whether it is what you want, or not. Again, they'll do the right thing no matter what it costs them.

Probably one of the greatest examples of a man of integrity we have in the Bible is Joseph. Even though his brothers treated him wrongly, selling him into slavery, he maintained his relationship with the Lord, and continued to walk in integrity.

It is these two characteristics that caused him to be raised to the highest position in Egypt, as Pharaoh's prime minister (Gen 41:40). Pharaoh saw the hand of God on Joseph's life, and saw in him someone with both wisdom and integrity; someone in whom Pharaoh could place his trust to do what was necessary.

Joseph didn't suddenly receive integrity as a gift from God when he needed it to serve Pharaoh; he lived in integrity throughout his life. We see this in the various things that the Bible records him doing.

After Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery, he became a slave of Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard (Gen 37:28, 36). That must have been quite a blow to Joseph, going from being the favorite son of Jacob, a wealthy man, to being a slave. Yet Joseph was faithful in his new position. So faithful that Potiphar promoted him and put him in charge of his whole household (Gen 39:4). His integrity was so high at that point in his life that his master trusted him to the point that he "knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat" (Gen 39:6).

Unfortunately, Potiphar's wife also saw these characteristics in Joseph and was attracted to him. She asked him to "lie with her" (Gen 39:7). Not only did she do this once, but the Bible says she did this daily (Gen 39:10).

Joseph's response the first time showed his integrity.

But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand. ⁹ There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

Gen 39:8-9

Not only did Joseph refuse Potiphar's wife the first time, but it says in verse 10 that he "hearkened not unto her" even though she was offering herself to him daily.

Finally, probably in frustration, she lays a trap for him and gets him alone in the house. "And she (Potiphar's wife) caught him (Joseph) by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out (Gen 39:12). He was so adamant about protecting his integrity, that he didn't let her hand on his clothing stop him, and she literally tore his clothes off him in his escape.

Although Joseph acted with integrity, it cost him. Potiphar's wife lied to her husband, telling him that Joseph had come to rape her. Scripture doesn't tell us what Joseph's response to this accusation was, but in this case, I like how the movie portrays Joseph. Although he knew it would cost him, he refused to say anything against her.

Even in prison Joseph acted with integrity. Joseph found favor in the sight of the warden of the prison and he put Joseph in charge of everything in the prison. His time in prison, and the integrity he showed there, ultimately led to him becoming Pharaoh's prime minister.

Our God is a God of integrity, and He desires people of integrity to show His character to the world. When Solomon dedicated the temple he built unto the Lord, God said to him:

"As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, ⁵ I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, `You shall never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.'

1 Ki 9:4-5

God promises blessings to those who live according to His desires. As with most of God's promises of blessings, this blessing is conditional. This blessing only comes to king Solomon if he lives in integrity of heart.

Of course, blessings aren't limited only to the king. We too receive blessings for walking in integrity. The book of Proverbs mentions in several places how integrity brings blessing to us.

The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.

Pr 10:9 NIV

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

Pr 11:3 NIV

Righteousness guards the man of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.

Pr 13:6 NIV

Security, guidance, and a guard of righteousness over our lives are some of the blessings that we receive when we walk in integrity. But look at the second half of each of those verses. Those who don't walk in integrity receive exposure for their falsehood, destruction and are overthrown by wickedness. Just as there are always blessings for obeying God, there is always a price for disobeying Him.

The blessings of walking in integrity go past the individual and are passes on to their children as well. Proverbs 20:7 says: "The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him." I don't know about you, but one of my desires in life is to see my children blessed. Here is a promise from God on how they can be.

So, how exactly do we walk in integrity. More than anything, walking in integrity means that our words and our actions are in agreement. It isn't good enough to say you'll do something if you don't follow through and do that which you said.

In times past in the United States, it was said that "a man's word was his bond." If a man said he would do something, that was it, you could take those words to the bank and be sure he would carry them out. Business deals worth many thousands of dollars were concluded on a word and a handshake.

Being a man of his word was considered a sign of being a man. If someone's word was not good, people wouldn't do business with him. People didn't want him living in their community. He would be shunned by society.

This attitude was so strong that calling a man a liar was common grounds for a duel. If a man killed another man who had called him a liar in fair duel, he was free. The law would not prosecute him for protecting his name. The people around him would look upon him with favor standing up for his integrity.

In Matthew 5:37, Jesus said, "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." In other words, Jesus was saying that we should be so honest in our words that there is no question when we say yes or no that we mean just what we are saying. We shouldn't need to amplify on those words, because they are sure, and in the eyes of those around us our saying them is definite, true and a promise that will be kept.

Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.

Prov 19:1

Another way of saying perverse lips is lying lips. Here in Proverbs, king Solomon, anointed by God is declaring that financial prosperity is not as important as integrity. That's 100 percent opposite of our modern culture. So much is based upon receiving financial security and prosperity, that it is considered acceptable to be dishonest in the pursuit of wealth. It's bad enough that this idea is in the world, but you can find many people who say this in the church!

Integrity means being honest in every word that we say. I remember hearing a statistic a few years ago that the average person lies over 800 times per day! Now, I'm not sure what those lies are, or even how that is possible, but let's just leave it as the average person lies a lot. It has become such a common part of our society that we don't even notice it.

Another important part of walking in integrity is to not let man affect what we say and do. As soon as we let the opinion of other men change our actions, we change who we are. Even if those people are believers, doing what they want changes us in one way or another.

Now, sometimes those changes can be for the good, but the fact that we change to meet someone else's expectations isn't. Let's say for example that a minister is ministering in another church in another city. To appear "spiritual" he spends much more time in reading his Bible than he normally would. That extra time in the Word of God is a good thing. But, the falsehood of doing it just to look spiritual isn't. That minister's action becomes a lie.

Even Jesus' enemies recognized Him as a man of integrity. His very life was in danger because of His integrity, but that didn't change His words, or His actions.

They sent their disciples to Him (Jesus) along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.

Mt 22:16 & Mk 12:14 NIV

We need to walk in the same kind of integrity as Jesus did. Why? Because if we don't we'll never manage to be a witness for Him. Instead of giving a testimony to an unbeliever, we'll talk about the ball game. Instead of stopping someone from treating another person badly, we'll turn the other cheek. Instead of speaking out against the wrong in someone's life, we'll keep quiet. We cannot be an effective tool in the hands of our God if we let man effect our actions.

Jesus said, But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God (Lk 12:9). I think this is pretty clear. Jesus will not acknowledge us as His before our Heavenly Father if we don't acknowledge Him as ours here on earth. That requires walking in integrity.

Many ministers say to themselves, "I must be living how God wants me to, because His anointing is on my life. Just look at the healings, or miracles, or salvations, or whatever that the Lord is doing through me." But, I must strongly say that this is an erroneous line of thinking. God's anointing is His to give, or withhold. It isn't dependant upon us, it's dependant upon the Holy Spirit.

Yes, God may be using us, but that isn't a seal of approval upon our lives. No matter how much God is using us, He could always be using us more. No matter how anointed our ministry is, it could always be more anointed. No matter how many are healed in our meetings, there are always those who go away in their infirmity. No matter how many hearts are touched and lives are changed, there are always those who keep walking in their sin.

The problem is that we're using the wrong standard of measure. Instead of comparing our "works" to the Word of God and the works of His Son, Jesus, we compare ourselves to other ministries, and decide that we're doing pretty good. The Bible warns against this:

For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

2 Cor 10:12

In God's eyes, when we compare ourselves to others, instead of to His Word, we are fools. He has given us the standard of comparison, and there is no other.

By comparing ourselves to others, or to what we think we should be doing, we are in essence negating God's plan and purpose for our lives. Instead of "doing all things as unto the Lord" (Col 3:23), we do things for ourselves, or to look good in front of other men. This is a dangerous attitude, and God will not reward those who continue in this way.

Let's take a look for a moment at a man in the Bible who was tremendously anointed, but didn't have any integrity. That person is the Judge Samson. He was anointed of God to have tremendous strength and ability in order to be a judge and liberator of Israel. However, if we look at his life, he had very little integrity. In fact, almost everything written about his life screams about a lack of integrity.

The first mention of Samson is his birth in Judges chapter 13. An angel of the Lord came to Samson's parents and commanded that he be raised as a Nazarite; wholly dedicated unto the Lord. The parents obeyed the command of the Lord, and the woman gave birth to a son, whom they named Samson.

Now, let's look at what the Bible says about Samson's life:

• Samson requests of his parents that they get him a wife of the Philistines, which was clearly against God's commandments - Judges 14:1-2

• He killed a lion - this was neither moral or immoral - Judges 14:5-6

• He killed 30 Philistines, in order to steal their garments in payment of a debt gained by betting - Judges 14:19

• He caught 300 foxes and let them loose with torches attached to their tails in the fields of the Philistines because he was angry - Judges 15:4-5

• He "smote" many Philistines (no number given) because they killed his wife in retribution for letting the foxes destroy their crops - Judges 15:8 When the Philistines went to war against Israel, taking this feud to the next level he said, "As they did unto me, so have I done unto them." - Not exactly the greatest of reasons to do things - Judges 15:11

• He killed 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. This is a continuation of the feud mentioned in the previous point - Judges 15:15

• He tore the city gates, posts and bars out of the wall of Gaza, and carried them off to a hill before Hebron. However, he did this because the Philistines were going to capture him while he was visiting a prostitute - Judges 16:1-3

• Three times, he broke free from captivity when the lords of the Philistines were trying to use Delilah to capture him. However, had he not been involved in what was probably an affair with Delilah, they would not have had the opportunity to bind him. Finally, Delilah wore him down to the point that he told her the truth, and he was captured. - Judges 16:4-21

• While in captivity to the Philistines, he destroyed their temple, killing about 3,000 of them and dying at the same time. Although he asked the Lord to allow him his strength to do this act, as an act of revenge for the Philistines blinding him, he also was willing to sacrifice his life in order to destroy the enemies and oppressors of his people. This was the only act of integrity the Bible records in his life. - Judges 16:30

In the one act of integrity of Samson's life, in which he died, he accomplished more for the Lord than he did in the previous 20 years of ministry. Even then, the act was not fully one of integrity, as his reasons for doing that act were selfish.

Yes, God used Samson. God even used Samson's lack of integrity to accomplish His divine will. I am sure that God orchestrated the events of Samson's life in order to use his temper and selfishness for God's purpose. But, when I see a story like this, I must ask myself, "If Samson had acted with integrity throughout his life, how much more could he have accomplished for the Lord?"

It is the same for those of us in ministry today. You and I may be accomplishing great things for the Lord, not because of our integrity, but in spite of it. Looking at us, I must ask the same question, "How much more could we accomplish for the Lord, if we did everything with integrity?"

Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. ⁷ In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness ⁸ and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us

Tit 2:6 NIV