Living with Integrity - Martin Wiles

Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the LORD. Psalm 119:1 NLT

Sometimes choosing to give back what the Lord may have provided is a difficult decision. 

Irregular heartbeats were coming with regularity for my wife. Her cardiologist prescribed a heart halter for 24 hours, a direction that required a trip to the emergency room to have it attached. 

As she waited in the ER, she noticed a twenty dollar bill in a nearby chair. Knowing someone obviously dropped it, she asked a few neighboring people. None claimed it. Instead of claiming it herself, she took it to the receptionist. 

The receptionist took her number and told her if no one claimed it she would call her. The call never came. (I have a sneaky feeling I know why.) We needed the twenty. Our gas tank was nearing empty, but my wife chose to do the right thing even though she didn’t have to.  

Doing the right thing all the time whether someone is looking or not isn’t the simplest task. It’s often more difficult to do the right thing when no one is looking. 

My wife taking the twenty would have escaped the notice of everyone. Yet, choosing to do the right thing regardless of the circumstances is the definition of integrity. 

There have been occasions when doing the right thing was tough. Such as the time when I was 19 and making my truck payment at the local bank. I knew how much my check was, and I knew how much change I should receive. When I got home and counted, I discovered twenty dollars more than I should have had. I struggled with whether to return it—until I remembered who I was. I represented Jesus Christ. He would want honesty. So I returned the money to the teller who thanked me. She would have checked up twenty dollars short. 

Temporary sadness or disappointment might occur when I show integrity, but the overall result of a life of doing the right thing will be joy and fulfillment. 

Choose to live everyday with integrity. You’ll never regret your decision.

Prayer: Father, enable us to live with integrity so we can give examples of right living to others. 

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