Archives For integrity

       This post is a short summary of the Personal Finance Bible Study on work. It contains links to all of the articles in this study. You can also read Bible verses about work here.

Called to Work

       Made to Work
       Called to Work

       In the first part of this Bible study, we looked at how God has created and called Christians to work hard. We also looked at how our work can glorify God.

The Value of Hard Work

       Providing for Our Needs
       Bringing Honor to God
       Gaining Wealth to Honor God

       Next, we looked at some of the benefits of pursuing God’s call to work hard. There are tangible benefits to hard work, and God desires to bless us with these benefits when we follow His teaching on work.

The Dangers of Too Much Rest and Laziness

       Laziness Brings Poverty
       Laziness Brings Dishonor
       Laziness Brings Difficulty

       Then we looked at the dangers of not following God’s call to work hard and instead pursuing rest, leisure, and laziness. God wants to protect us from these dangers, and that’s part of the reason He calls us to work hard.

Our Need for Rest

       God Wants Us to Rest
       We Need to Rest

       In following God’s call to work hard, we must not forget our need for rest. God wants us to rest because He knows we need it. We will do our best work for Him when we balance diligence and a strong work ethic with the prudence to know when to take our rest.

God’s Business Values and Ethics

       Be Fair & Just to All
       Keep Your Integrity
       Be Mindful of the Poor
       Be a Good Steward
       Don’t Use the Church for Business

       Finally, we looked at God’s business values and ethics as He teaches in the Bible. How should we conduct our business and work so we can best glorify Him? As the Spirit works through us, we will naturally follow God’s will in our work. But identifying these values can help us better serve God as we grow in our walk with Him.

       Thank you for reading this Bible study on work. Feel free to use it in your church or Bible study group. If you have any questions or suggestions, please leave me a comment!

       In the last part of this series on work, we looked at God’s desire for us to treat each other honestly and fairly. But we also find a special emphasis on the fact that we should maintain this honest and fair treatment of others at all times. God provides no exceptions for Christians to be honest and just to anyone. Keeping your honesty and fairness at all times and sticking to a moral code is called integrity. God wants us to keep our integrity at all times, which will further strengthen our witness to the world and the success of our work.

Our Guiding Light

       When we keep our integrity in all situations, we are looking to God for direction. We are seeking out His ways so we can do His will. When we let the Spirit lead us in everything, work or play, we are keeping our integrity – our strict adherence to looking at what the Father is doing and wants us to do. It’s in this way that our integrity will be our guiding light.

       The integrity of the upright shall guide them, but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them.

Proverbs 11:3 (WEB)

       The Bible tells us that our integrity shall guide us, but the perverseness of the treacherous shall destroy them. This is a powerful witness to the importance of keeping our integrity at all times. When we allow Satan to twist our thinking and turn our eyes away from God’s ways, we are walking down the path to destruction. And it doesn’t take much. It’s so easy to ruin our reputation, and Satan is glad to find a way to tarnish any witness we might have to the world. That’s why it’s so important to keep our integrity all the time – not just when we think people are looking.

       Many people, thinking no one was looking, have compromised their integrity to benefit themselves – often monetarily. We see this all the time in corporate, political, and even church scandals. But God tells us it’s not worth it. There is no amount of money worth compromising our integrity or risking our good name.

       A good name is more desirable than great riches, and loving favor is better than silver and gold.

Proverbs 22:1 (WEB)

       And again:

       Better is the poor who walks in his integrity, than he who is perverse in his ways, and he is rich.

Proverbs 28:6 (WEB)

       Though it may seem like maintaining our integrity – even when we don’t think it matters – will do little to benefit us here and now, following God in all things has immense benefits to our spiritual lives and will draw us ever closer to Him. It will also make our witness as Christians even more powerful – not because of the good things we’ve done, but because of the love God has given us and shows through us for all people. This love is shown greatly when we continue to treat everyone honestly and fairly no matter what the situation.

Keeping Your Integrity

       So how do we go about keeping our integrity. What can we do to make sure we don’t fall into Satan’s traps or become disillusioned by the false promises of riches? God gives us practical advice in this area:

       25 Let your eyes look straight ahead. Fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Make the path of your feet level. Let all of your ways be established. 27 Don’t turn to the right hand nor to the left. Remove your foot from evil.

Proverbs 4:25-27 (WEB)

       We need to keep our eyes focused on God. If we look to the side, Satan will rush in with excuses and reasons we should stray just a little this once. “It’s OK to cheat on your taxes…everyone does it, and the government will just waste the money anyway.” “It won’t hurt anyone if you take a little extra. Who will know?” If we keep our eyes focused on Jesus and His message, these thoughts will not be able to withstand the power of His love and teaching and we’ll be able to keep our integrity.

       God also tells us to make our path level. We should remove any obstacles, distractions, or temptations that might cause us to stumble as we try to walk in His ways. By doing this, we make it easier to keep our focus on Him alone. He also wants us to “establish” our ways. We need to make a habit of always seeking God’s will – a habit of always taking time to stop and let the Spirit teach us how God wants us to handle the situations we encounter. The simple act of taking some time to pray before acting can save us from so many dangers and sins.

       It’s clear that God wants us to be honest and just. But it’s equally clear that He wants us to be that way all the time. He wants us to keep our integrity – so we’ll become closer to Him, and so we’ll be even greater examples of the power of God’s love in our lives. Take time to consider how you can better keep your integrity and honor God with your life completely.