Prov. 11:3 -The integrity of the honest keeps them on track; the deviousness of crooks brings them to ruin. {MSG}
Job 27:5b -I’ll not deny my integrity even if it costs me my life. I’m holding fast to my integrity and not loosening my grip— and, believe me, I’ll never regret it. {MSG}
Integrity is the qualifications of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. It is generally a personal choice to hold oneself to consistent moral and ethical standards.
Success will come and go, but integrity is forever. Integrity means doing the right thing at all times and in all circumstances, whether or not anyone is watching. It takes having the courage to do the right thing, no matter what the consequences will be. Building a reputation of integrity takes years, but it takes only a second to lose; so never allow yourself to ever do anything that would damage your integrity.
We live in a world where integrity isn’t talked about nearly enough. We live in a world where “the end justifies the means” has become an acceptable school of thought for far too many.
It may seem like people can gain power quickly and easily if they are willing to cut corners and act without the constraints of morality. Dishonesty may provide instant gratification in the moment but it will never last. I can think of several examples of people without integrity who are successful and who win without ever getting caught, which creates a false perception of the path to success that one should follow.
But doing that, you lose your ability to be trusted as a person of integrity, which is the most valuable quality anyone can have in their life. Profit in cash or power is temporary, but profit in a network of people who trust you as a person of integrity is forever.
Every one person who trusts you will spread the word of that trust to at least a few of their associates, and word of your character will spread like wildfire. The value of the trust others have in you is far beyond anything that can be measured.
For you, it means having an army of people that are willing to go the extra mile to help you because they know that recommending you to others will never bring damage to their own reputation of integrity. Yes, the value of the trust others have in you goes beyond anything that can be measured because it brings along with it limitless opportunities and endless possibilities.
Warren Buffet, said, “In looking for people to hire, look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don’t have the first one, the other two will kill you.” A person’s dishonesty will eventually catch up to them. It may not be today, and it may not be for many years, but you can rest assured that at some point, there will always be a reckoning.
For those who are striving for a reputation of integrity: Avoid those who are not trustworthy. Do not do business with them. Do not associate with them. Do not make excuses for them. Do not allow yourself to get enticed into believing that “while they may be dishonest with others, they would never be dishonest with me.” If someone is dishonest in any aspect of his life, you can be guaranteed that he will be dishonest in many aspects of his life. You cannot dismiss even those little acts of dishonesty; after all, if a person cannot be trusted in the simplest matters of honesty, then how can he possibly be trusted to uphold lengthy and complex assignment?
It is important to realize that others pay attention to those you have chosen to associate with, and they will inevitably judge your character by the character of your friends. Why is that? It is because when you lie down with dogs, you get fleas. Inevitably, we become more and more like the people we surround ourselves with day to day.
If you surround yourself with people who are dishonest and willing to cut corners to get ahead, then you’ll surely find yourself following a pattern of first enduring their behavior, then accepting their behavior, and finally adopting their behavior. If you want to build a reputation as a person of integrity, then surround yourself with people of integrity.
A wise man said: “Do what is right, let the consequence follow.” Let this quote serves as a daily reminder to you that success will indeed come and go, but integrity is forever.
God bless you