Job Chapter 2: verse 3 (NIV)
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.”
Job Chapter 2 verses 9-10 (NIV)
His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.
Integrity can be defined as having strong moral principles and uncompromisingly sticking to them. It is the practice of doing right all the time. It is easy perhaps to be considered as a person of integrity when everything is going as we think it should be for us. But I think we can only really tell if someone is truly a person of integrity if their behaviour and character remain unchanged during times of trial and testing. God Himself commends Job for maintaining his integrity in spite of the situation he found himself in. Even his own wife felt that doing so was pointless, yet he continued to do so.
When the chips are down, we often get a glimpse of our own character. As Job told his wife, we too cannot be expected to avoid our share of trials and temptations, and it doesn’t give us the right to behave in a way that dishonours God. That is the very time we want His light to shine in our lives and prove that we do not go through such situations in our own strength but in Christ and with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Dear Lord,
Without the help of the Holy Spirit and the assurance of faith I’m certain that it would not be possible to maintain integrity. Thank You for sending Him to be our Comforter, our Teacher and our Guide, Help me to do in Your strength what I cannot do by myself, so that the evidence of Your presence can be seen even in me. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.