“But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.” Matthew 5:37
Years ago, I had a conversation with a businessman at an airport while waiting for my flight. He asked what I did for a living, and I told him, “I work with Christian business owners and key executives – to help them better live out their faith in the marketplace and to integrate biblical principles into the way they conduct business.”
He scowled and said, “Let me tell you my experience in dealing with business people who tell me they are Christians. I have learned to cover my wallet and immediately head for the exit.” He proceeded to tell me about a couple of businessmen whom he had interacted with who portrayed themselves as Christians. They were ruthless in the way they conducted business and had taken him for a lot of money.
Obviously, I was only hearing one side of the story, and perhaps there was vital information being left out, but this man had a very poor opinion of Christianity because he dealt with those whose actions were not consistent with what they claimed to believe.
As I listened to him, I assured him that this experience was not the way it should be, and that was exactly what Truth At Work was trying to address. That conversation profoundly impacted me and I knew I had to dedicate the rest of my life to helping change that perception. I was heartbroken by what I heard, and in my experience, there were too many examples of Christian business leaders not conducting themselves in a manner consistent with the instructions and principles so clearly stated in the Bible.
The word integrity comes from a Latin root that means whole, consistent, and complete. The opposite of integrity is duplicity.
For us to live out our Christian faith with integrity in business, our home, and through activities and relationships with others we need to act in accordance with biblical principles.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, integrity is defined as:
- firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values: incorruptibility
- an unimpaired condition: soundness
- the quality or state of being complete or undivided: completeness
Some very powerful words come from these sub-definitions:
Incorruptibility: Not subject to decay or dissolution. Incapable of being bribed or morally corrupted. Proverbs 11:3
Soundness: Free from flaw, defect, decay, error, fallacy, or misapprehension. Proverb 12:22
Completeness: Having all the necessary parts, elements, or steps. Heb 13:18
In this light, no human in and of himself, can have 100% integrity. No one is incorruptible, flawless, or free from error. This should not stop us from trusting Christ to help us grow in our integrity. The good news is that because of who we are in Christ, we can live a life of integrity through Him, especially as we conduct our business endeavors according to His Word.
A quick way for us as Christians to build up, or tear down our platform for effective ministry is by the level of credibility we establish with those who are around us daily. People in the marketplace are far more likely to favorably view and respond to Christians who live out their faith, not just talk about it.
People are looking for Christians who do what they say they will do when they say they will do it. They are looking for Christians who return phone calls and messages in a timely fashion, pay their bills, and treat others around them with dignity and respect. They are looking for Christians who are not easily angered but respond to difficult situations and people with calm, peace, and patience. It is important for us to remember that many people we interact with have had negative experiences with Christians in the marketplace . They have seen hypocrisy in followers of Christ, have been hurt by someone in the past, a church has let them down, or they have seen people who called themselves Christians act ungodly.
As Christians, these are some of the obstacles we must overcome in building a platform for marketplace ministry.
To begin to help people overcome their preconceived notions and prejudices against Christians, we first need to spend time in prayer. We need to continually ask God to demonstrate Himself in and through us. We need to ask Him to allow people to not see us, but to see Him living through us (Galatians 2:20). Then we must commit to acting with integrity, even when it is difficult, inconvenient, or requires a sacrifice of time or money.
One big problem in business is when a company or individual over-promises and underdelivers. There have been countless situations where to make a sale, a businessperson will tell the customer they can deliver before they even know for sure that the promise can be fulfilled. Before promising anybody anything, make sure you can and will deliver. It is better to under-promise and over-deliver than to over-promise and under-deliver.
Make sure you deliver on your promises: to your customers, your boss, your co-workers, family, church, yourself, but most importantly, the promises you make to the Lord.
ASSIGNMENT
Read the preceding content and write your answers to the questions below. Be prepared to discuss them with your friends/Neighbors around.
In your own words, how would you define integrity?
In business, is there any difference between Christian integrity and the world’s integrity?
Describe a time in your business when you did not operate with full integrity. What
were the consequences? How did you handle it? How did you correct the situation?
What decision, issue, or opportunity are you facing right now that is a challenge to your integrity?
Discuss what integrity looks like in school, at home, through activities and in relationships with others
Summary:
Please take some time to research 4-6 Bible verses that deal with integrity. Write those Scriptures in our comment section or email, and be prepared to offer your thoughts and comments at the next meeting. God bless you.