Proverbs, chapter 20

What does integrity mean to you? To me, it means we are constantly seeking to align ourselves with God’s will. It does not meant hat we are perfect. It does not mean we are blameless. Far from it, in fact. It means that we see that we have faults, yet we still try to align ourselves with the plan that our Creator has for our lives.

7 The righteous man leads a blameless life;
blessed are his children after him. – Proverbs 20:7

This is a sign of integrity. Not only do we seek a righteous life for ourselves, in doing so we pass on that example for our children. The example also is reflected in our daily lives, as those around us see that we are men and women of integrity. That, in turn, continues God’s message and passes it off to others. I know I am not perfect. I know I will never be perfect. I do, however, strive to live my life as one with integrity.

11 Even a child is known by his actions,
by whether his conduct is pure and right. – Proverbs 20:11

This ties in to the verse above because of the example we set for our children. I see this all the time in public, and now example was bigger than Friday night. My wife and I attended the Indiana Pacers game here in Indy. In our section were kids as part of families. There were several kids that understood this was a public setting. They sat and enjoyed the game, not bothering other fans there. They needed no prompting from their parents because of the example that had been set before them. Behind us, however, there was a kids that had no such example set before him. He was kicking my seat, yelling as loud as he could (right in my ear), and kept leaning over and tried to mess with my coat on the seat next to me. I know kids will be kids, but this was beyond that, especially with the examples around us. This is a reflection of the life of integrity (or lack thereof) by the parent too since there was no effort to correct this behavior.