Jeremiah 29:11
Are you being faithful to God’s plans for you?
Today I had the opportunity to learn about how following God’s will is the deepest form of integrity, and I would like to share the lesson with you! (Now this original blog post was entirely too long, so it is divided into two separate blogs.)
One Friday each month, I participate in Lifeworks Leadership, which is a national program aimed towards Christian business professionals. I’m blessed enough to have one of these locations (and pretty much the only location that isn’t in a major city) in my tiny college town of Ashland, Ohio, and have received a scholarship to participate for free! Lifeworks Leadership is founded on the principle of incorporating Christianity into the work place through your actions. Each monthly session focuses around a specific attribute that Jesus exemplified, and we examine this trait through lessons taught by a local and national business person who has effectively incorporated it into their work.
This month our focus attribute was integrity, and our national speaker was Kevin W. McCarthy, who is the author of The On-Purpose Person and The On-Purpose Business. His biography reads “Kevin’s goal with audiences is to stir their hearts, advance their thinking, and inspire them to action,” and I can speak from experience that he is a very spiritual and faithful man. His hour long session was extremely motivating, and I found myself wanting to share his message with others.
First, to understand integrity, we have to understand how Kevin defines integrity. Kevin based his session on defining integrity as oneness with God and focusing on His will for you. Integrity is a means to an end and will bring someone a true sense of peace.
Now that we have that definition out of the way, we are going to have a little “play along at home” segment so grab a pen and a sheet of paper! On the paper, draw four columns. Entitle the columns “Quality/Character”, “Reality”, “Cost/Benefit”, and “Means.” Leave some space in each column to take some notes. Your paper should look something like this:
The first step is to visualize the person in your life who best demonstrates integrity. What do you like about him or her? What characteristics really stand out? Go ahead and jot down some of their outstanding characteristics in the “Quality/Character” column. Below you will see the chart filled with answers from this session. Feel free to add any characteristics you believe add to integrity.
The second step is "What is the reality of having integrity?". Is it easy or hard? What are the outcomes of challenging situations? Take a minute to really think about what you think about the reality of integrity. Once again, these are some of the answers we produced. (No worries! This is the hardest and most abstract column!)
Now, column 3 actually needs to be divided into two mini-columns: costs (top half) and benefits(bottom half). What is the cost of not having integrity? How do you feel when you compromised your integrity? Once you have completed this list, think about the benefits of integrity? How do you feel when you handle a situation in the best way you can? Below is the chart from our session.
Now, the last column, “Means”, is a longer process. I will outline this process in my next blog (“Integrity Part 2”) shortly! But until then, absorb and process this information! Also, be praying about God's will for you. (Make sure you are listening to Him! Attempt to silence your heart so it has no will of its own. We want to hear solely God's will.)
Blessings!
