Living with Integrity - Martin Wiles

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

Living with integrity is often difficult.

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

As we 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, who took her number and told her they would call her if no one claimed it. 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.  

Always doing the right thing, whether or not someone is looking, isn’t the simplest task. It’s often more challenging to do the right thing when no one is looking. No one would have noticed if my wife had taken the twenty. Yet, choosing to do the right thing, regardless of the circumstances, defines integrity.

I’ve had occasions when doing the right thing was tough. Such as when I was nineteen and making my truck payment at the local bank. I knew how much my check was and 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 we show integrity, but the overall result of a life of doing the right thing will be joy and fulfillment. So choose to live every day 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. 

Tweetable: Are you living with integrity? 

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