“What does integrity mean?”
We were 2 young men at a college and career retreat and the speaker had mentioned integrity. We really didn’t know what it meant. We were both in university, we weren’t stupid, we just didn’t know what integrity really was. So, we tracked the guest speaker down after the session and asked him to help us understand what integrity was.
His answer really surprised us.
“It’s kind of like bologna. You know, those big loaves of bologna? No matter where you slice it, or how you slice it, you always get the same thing.”, was his reply.
What does that mean??
We chewed through our thoughts for a while and came up with an understanding of what we thought he meant. Integrity is a consistent high moral standard of behavior. A man of integrity consistently lives by a high moral standard. No matter where, no matter when, it’s the same high standard of behavior.
I witnessed great integrity recently – in a very unique circumstance.
My brother, his wife and I were having dinner on their deck. A small bird flew into the second story window. Stunned by the impact it fluttered down to the ground beside the table. Not dead, but not totally alive, it lay on the ground gasping for breath.
My brother is a pastor. In fact, he’s been pastoring the same church for close to 40 years. He has dedicated his life to caring for people. He’s been doing so for decades. No matter where he is, no matter what he’s doing, he cares for people.
I have watched him for the vast majority of my life reaching out to people with God’s love. He encourages, he exhorts, he teaches, he serves, he preaches, he prays for people, he leads them to Christ, whatever way he can minister to people he does.
So what I watched next in the life of that little bird was no surprise. He got out of his chair, he walked over to the bird and he prayed for its recovery. Gently stroking that bird’s head he prayed for its healing in Jesus’ name.
But he didn’t stop there. He made a little bed for it out of a small cardboard box which he lined with Kleenex and napkins. He gently placed the bird in the box and put a little napkin over it for safe keeping. He put the box within eyesight, but far enough away not to scare or intimidate the bird.
And sure enough, that little bird recovered and flew away just after we had finished dessert.
That little scenario was a great illustration of the heart of my brother. As I watched this scene unfold I realized my brother cared for that bird in a similar way he has treated people for years.
That’s integrity.
This was also a great demonstration of the heart of our Father. Jesus told us that God takes care of the birds of the air. How much more will He care for us?
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26
“Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!” Luke 12:24
God created the birds. He cares for the birds. God feeds the birds. The birds are not too small for God to care for. How much more will God take care of us?
Watching my brother care for that bird caused me to ask a few questions of myself. I don’t think I would have done what my brother did. In fact, I urged Ron not to touch it and contaminate it with his scent. Lame, really lame Dave.
My brother went the extra mile. His integrity spoke loud and clear.
That’s the kind of man I trust we want to be. No matter where, no matter when, no matter which way you slice us, may we be men of integrity – consistently living by a high moral standard.
Just like bologna.
1 Corinthians 15:58
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
Psalm 78:72
“And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.”
Proverbs 11:3
“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.”