Integrity

One thing I’ve been learning about is God’s integrity. It’s seldom that we think of God having integrity. But of course he does. I thought about this reading through 1 Kings 8:23. Solomon says to the Lord: O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below- you who keep you covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it-as it is today.

            Solomon’s ‘Prayer of Dedication,’ as it is called, is contingent upon the fact that God is complete in integrity. That the things He spoke with His mouth, He put into action with His hand. God’s words are truth and reliable. God is dependable. Always follows through.

I think about the importance of this. The old testament and the new testament work so strongly together because the NT is fulfillment of OT prophecies. Tons of them! The things that God spoke through prophets, promises of the future, are followed through in the days of Christ. Even down to the slightest prophecy, that Christ would be the purest of lambs with out blemish or broken bone on the cross. If even one of these promises did not come to pass, God would lose credibility. But God is always there with the follow through.

With His integrity we can trust that any word that God speaks will come to pass in His time.
Part of God’s integrity is NOT making commitments that He will not for certain keep. For instance, God tells us that He WANTS good things for His children, He wants to bless us with lovely things and beauty in this world. But He does not promise it. What He does promise is so much more, He promises His Kingdom to those who will follow. He promises us that by our faithfulness we will gain the Crown of Life (Rev 2:10) For this we can be certain, despite any circumstance we may suffer, we are promised a place in His heavenly presence. Because God is a God that is true to his word; He is a God of integrity in the big and small things.

Therefore, we should also walk in integrity. Integrity to follow through with our words, and discernment to not make commitments we are not certain we can keep. In both the big and the small. To be a person who others know will show up if the commitment was made; and in the bigger things, like the commitment to love and care for another, or our commitment of obedience to the Lord. Even when another person seems undeserving of the sacrifices we may have to make to maintain integrity, we are called to this. We are called to be people of integrity despite circumstance. God treats us with integrity although we often act as undeserving sinners; we should treat each other this way.