Learn Humbly: Playing with Integrity March 12, 2010

Learn Humbly: Playing with Integrity

March 12, 2010

One Month to Live

30 days to a no-regrets Life

by Kerry and Chris Shook.

Principle 1: Live Passionately, Living each day as if it were your last.

Principle 2: Love Completely, showing others love that transcends and transforms.

Principle 3: Learn Humbly, growing through your problems and pain

Principle 4: Leave Boldly, Creating a legacy that will impact generations

Day 21, March 12, 2010—Playing with Integrity

“Guard the secret theater of your heart. See noting there that you do not want to see happen in reality.” – Roy H. Williams

“The difference between school and life? In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson.” Tom Bodett

“Better to be poor and walk in integrity than to be crooked in one’s ways even though rich.” Proverbs 28:6

“I know, my God, that you search the heart, and take pleasure in uprightness. 1 Chronicles 29:17

If you had one month to live, most likely you would want to review your life and examine your character. You would want to do all you could to learn from the mistakes in your past, iron out any wrinkles that had developed, and live your remaining days at peace. You would want your life to integrated and whole, not compartmentalized and fragmented as we often experience when we’re going through the motions of life and settling for less than we were made to enjoy. If you were living deliberately and passionately and were fully alive, you would want to live with integrity.

Integrity comes from the root word, “integer.” An integer is simply a whole number as opposed to a fraction. So integrity means wholeness as opposed to being fragmented a fractured.

It means that if we have integrity that the way we act in church should be the same as we do at work, at school or with friends. Integrity fills our lives with peace, passion and purpose. If you’re pretending to be someone you’re not, your life will be about positioning, posturing, shifting, second and guessing.

Complete Players

If you want to live in an undivided, unbroken state of strength and peace, then we must be complete players. We must integrate our core values and beliefs into all we do, not just some of what we do.

There is a true story about a man who went to purchase a bucket of chicken to take to a picnic. When the man got to the park and opened the bucket, he found $800. He drove back and returned the money. The manager was so thankful and relieved when the man came back that he wanted to call the newspapers and TV station to compliment him on his honesty. Bu the man refused, saying that he didn’t want any publicity because the woman he was with was married to someone else.

You can be honest in one area of your life, but if your dishonest in another area, you don’t have integrity.

In what areas of your life are you most likely to cut corners or put aside your values? Relational? Financial? Spiritual? What part of your life is most challenging to integrate with the other parts?

One True Swing

Everyone has one true, authentic swing. But the problem is that we try to impress people. We swing for show rather than trying to find our unique swing. Integrity is the opposite of image. Integrity is who you are when no one is looking, when there’s no one around to impress. It’s allowing your true character to take center stage and deciding to  reveal who you are and what you truly believe.

A Bad Lie

Telling a lie is simple at first. We just stretch the truth a little. But one lie leads to others, because you feel compelled to conceal the original untruths. In the end, all the lies come undone, wounding you and others in the process.

Why do we lie? Maybe the real reason we lie is because we don’t love enough. Lying is the easy route, a selfish convenience. It’s taking the easy way. If you risk loving, then you’ll tell the truth. The more you love, the less you lie. The more you love, the more you have the courage to tell the truth.

When is it hard to keep your word? In which relationships or situations are you most likely to find yourself in a bad lie? If you only had one month to live, who would need to be told the truth today?

In this journey of Lent we are reminded that we have failed again and again. Our lives are often made up of more lies than truth. Jesus death on the cross takes all our failures and replaces them with grace. We are invited to hear the truth about us and God. We are children of God, forgiven and set free to live in truth and love.

Prayer: Father, I’m both sacred and glad that you know and see everything about me. You know when my public image contradicts my private reality. Help me live with greater integrity. Give me a heart like yours, filled with truth and life. Amen.