Integrity
A person’s word often determines the worth of their name, in terms of character that is.
I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, Yahweh. Teach me your statutes. With my lips, I have declared all the ordinances of your mouth. Psalms 119:11–13, WEB
Integrity isn’t a sexy concept, and perhaps it never was, but goodness… even the worst of people use it almost universally against the people that have it.
The dark ones of this world even value it in a twisted way.
In the desert temptation of Jesus, the enemy used attacks against Christ’s integrity to try to manipulate him into servitude.
It was a battle, the Master himself against the master of the air, or the prince thereof for that matter.
If the enemy cannot bend our wills by persuasion, influence, or enticement — he will often focus on the insecurities we have with the perception of our characters. In ancient times, character was very much aligned with one’s name.
We call not upon the name of Jesus merely for the sound thereof as if it is a mere incantation against forces of destruction, but because when the act is tied to a heart of sincere faith, the living character of our Lord is endowed within the request or the situation.
We bequest the power and nature of his Spirit, not merely the preceding reputation that the name bequeaths us.
This holy and intrinsically rich integrity that comes with the character of Christ floods the plane of the seen with power, and allows angels to kiss the ground around us with protective presence.
When we act and stand on the name (which is the character) of Christ, and when it is spoken with a word of faith, that’s when we are using the authority authorized by God unto us as willing ambassadors in his kingdom of the heart.
Make no mistake, God’s power and dominion are in no way limited only to the domain of the heart… he made the world by the power of his world, and all that he wills indeed he can accomplish.
I have seen people of little integrity play the game of causing strife and doing things with people that only help them feel a sense of power for a moment. It is only for a moment in the grand scheme of things.
People of little integrity will use means and words that entice or take advantage of wants and fears.
Truly though, can it really be considered true power when the medium that is manipulated is almost universal, and easy to set in a certain direction? Fear, lust, inclusion, and exclusion are ever present considerations of people, and to operate on them overtly or subtly in the shallowest of ways hardly can be considered a god-like power.
Perhaps the credit could be given that a person has a knack for getting things using such tools, but even this means little.
To influence in integrity, truth, and more lasting things effectively… that is a divine skill, and it can be exercised and improved.
At its core there is less of us, and more of the other in the mix of the approach. Some people will never change, and that is something that we must learn to accept.
Yet it is better to fail in honor than succeed by deceit. Lies are a cheap perfume that eventually wears off and the user thereof is left empty.
When we speak from faith and integrity, our words remain.
And there is a Word that remains true even when an entire world says it is false.
And that Word is written in blood by his own words and integrity in the hearts of those who seek righteousness, justice, truth, and love.
The Word of God… Jesus Christ.
Jesus is integrity, and all these other things in a person. He sets his face like flint against pride yet looks in gentleness upon the humble.
He fills the hearts of the meek, and they who would rather spend one day in the presence of his holiness than a thousand elsewhere.
I truly feel that his integrity, and his perfect truth, are better than any sunshine that can be found in a thousand worlds.
I would rather spend one day there than a thousand elsewhere, a day in his Integrity and presence.
This day lives in my soul, and it is also there for you.
Blessings.
