LIVING IN INTEGRITY

Praising and worshiping our God is not only singing praises to Him but also living in integrity before God. Integrity is being honest and having strong biblical principles. Whether we are with people or alone, we live honestly and are committed to doing what is right before God. Integrity is the opposite of hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is claiming to be honest, but their behavior or motives do not conform to what they claim to be. I have one youth who shared with me once that his father was very friendly and kind at church, but at their home, he was distant and abusive. As a result, he was struggling to understand the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian. Hypocrisy is about living a double life, but integrity is about living an honest life. People of integrity would rather please God than others. When you see a person with integrity, you see who they really are, and they are not hiding anything. You will see their struggles and faith in God at the same time. When they make a mistake, they own it and are willing to be corrected. 

Psalm 101:1-2 says, "I will sing of your love and justice, Lord. I will praise you with songs. I will be careful to live a blameless life—when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home." Integrity starts at home because what we are in our home is what we are outside our home. There is a saying that you will know a family based on how their children behave at school. I think there is a truth in this saying because children tend to copy the behavior of their parents. The truth of the matter is that we need God's help to live with integrity because integrity is a matter of the heart. Our hearts need to change if we want to live in integrity, and God is the only one who can change our hearts. If we are struggling to live in integrity, we need to ask God to change our hearts. We need to allow God to change our hearts to live in integrity. In next week's devotions, we will expound more on how to live with integrity.

If we want to praise and worship God, we must live in integrity. We must be willing for God to change our hearts if we want to live an honest life. Our integrity must start at home.

Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) What does living with integrity mean? How do I live in integrity? Who can help me live in integrity? 

Take a moment to write down all your worries today. Then, lift them to God in prayer, surrendering them to His will and trusting in His guidance.

Prayer:

Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for encouraging me this morning to live in integrity. Please forgive me if I haven't. Please continue to change my heart so that I can live an honest life. I want to worship you not only with my lips but also with my attitude and behavior. Please help me to be honest at work, school, and especially at home. In your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.