Why is Integrity Important in the Life of a Christian?

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Why is Integrity Important in the Life of a Christian?

by Yemisi Iyilade

When you hear the word ‘integrity’ what comes to mind? Some have defined integrity as being honest or having moral principles.

Personally, I define Integrity as doing what is right and acceptable before God. This is so because it is almost difficult to live in our world with total uprightness without having a God factor in you, so I think ‘acceptable’ and ‘right’ can only be achieved with a belief in God.

Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho feeling lost, alone and afraid but she played a strategic role in the victory of the children of Israel over Jericho because she knew the importance of integrity. As Christians, we can learn from her story in Joshua chapter 2, because she did what was right and acceptable before God. She knew that cutting corners cannot be done and the only way out was to believe that God was sincere and trustworthy.

The Truth About Integrity

You may be counted for a joke and taken for granted if, as a parent, you apologize to your kid, or as a boss, you highlight your staff’s accomplishments, or as a leader in a position of power you say “I’m sorry” to your followers.

Because of the corrupt nature of our world, these circumstances seem almost impossible and many people think it is a waste of time to try to be sincere. Well, from the story of Rahab we can observe four reasons why integrity is important in the life of a Christian.

Why is Integrity Important?

Rahab gained four benefits, and these are the reasons why integrity is important. Expanding on these might help us understand how to live our lives daily in integrity to attract these benefits into our lives.

Integrity Brings Kindness:

It means far more to God to have integrity than to exhibit religious performance. Rahab had an opportunity to help and she did not fail, she held her part of the bargain. If she had no integrity, she would have failed to help the spies, and she would not have received the kindness that was shown to her and her family.

Sometimes the kindness we receive when we hold up our word might not mean anything in the short term, but it does go a long way to attract kindness from God and subsequently from man.

Joshua 6: 25 “But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.”

Integrity Grants Favor:

Another importance of integrity is the favor it brings you. A pure and upright heart brings out the best in you. When God searches your heart and finds that your intentions are true you will receive favor.

Rahab received favor even though her people were destroyed because she did what was acceptable to God. Proverbs 21:3 “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”

Integrity Gives You Guidance:

Integrity helps you know how to act and speak properly. Rahab lied to the king of Jericho to redirect his soldiers away from the spies, this guidance could only have come from God.

Sometimes when we deal with people, we struggle to know what to say and how to say it, but spiritual guidance comes on you if you have integrity. Proverbs 11:3 says, “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity”.

Integrity Ensures Security:

The choice to help and the choice to be trusted is a choice to be secure. If security is “the state of being free from danger or threat” (according to the dictionary, then what is your security in? Proverbs 10:9 tells us that “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.”

“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.” Proverbs 10:9

Why You Should Care About Integrity

Rahab showed integrity through sincerity and trustworthiness. If integrity is doing what is right and acceptable before God, it means you honor and trust because you know what God is capable of even when you are currently experiencing something different.

Sowing this uprightness as a seed in your life is understanding that you have an inheritance in the kingdom of God, and you can find security, guidance, favor and kindness in God.

Your courage will increase as you practice truthfulness and integrity. Rahab’s integrity saved her entire household, her father, mother, brother, sister, and all they had was delivered from death. The Israelites got victory without a physical fight because she gave them an opportunity to spy before the attack.

You should care about integrity if you want the kind of victory that only God can give or if you are looking up to God for a miracle.

Related: The Holy Pursuit

What Can Integrity Do For You Today?

Integrity is important in improving your personal life, relationship and workplace.

Just like the story, what if Jericho is a mountain or difficulty you are facing right now, and integrity is the bridge you need to cross over from uncertainty to assurance, from death to life or from destruction to blessings?

When you are truthful and do what is right you can help your spouse, kids or colleagues become better. In a relationship, for example, if integrity means being sincere to each other, being honest will increase the trust level between both spouses over time.

“You should care about integrity if you want the kind of victory that only God can give or if you are looking up to God for a miracle.”

Practising integrity will make you become someone with ‘words that can be trusted’. It does not matter how impossible it might seem, doing what is right and acceptable before God can give you access to God’s favor, kindness, security and guidance.

So decide today to be trustworthy and maintain your integrity. Do what you can and do it well. Believe in God and all you know about him. Build integrity in your personal life, relationship and career and discover your purpose and fulfill it.

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Yemisi Iyilade is an Online Business Consultant & Christian Lifestyle Coach. She is the creator and writer at Build a Kingdom Life.

Her goal is to help Bible-believing Christians strategically plan their lives, instead of struggling with overwhelm, disappointment and confusion, you can choose to build a kingdom lifestyle through the Holy Spirit and maximize your potential so that you can make a difference in the world, using the power of strategy, planning, automation and priorities in God.