“Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart” (Psalms 51:6, ESV).
I’ve always heard that integrity is being the same person on the outside that one is on the inside. The problem that I have with that definition, however, is that one can be a slimeball on the inside and the outside and, technically, still walk in integrity.
I started kindergarten at age four, so I was always younger than my classmates. I never truly felt like I fit in. I tried to be on the outside how others in my class were. I spent so much time trying to be what I was not that I really wasn’t sure who I was! That’s the danger of duplicity.
Rather than search for our identity outwardly, we need to learn to let God tell us who we are. We need His truth in our “inward being,” and we need to understand that God loves the person we are when we are alone with him.
It is in the “secret heart” that we find our true selves. Thankfully, God’s favorite place to start is the heart! He doesn’t withhold his love, grace, and wisdom from us until we have cleaned up the outside. He teaches us wisdom “in the secret heart”, the part of us that no one else sees; and that wisdom finds its perfect work in bringing our secret heart to the surface.
Integrity is more than being the same on the outside as we are on the inside. It’s being like Him on the outside and the inside. Integrity is also less than being the same on the outside as on the inside. Paul said, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out” (Romans 7:18, ESV).
I believe that integrity is growing into Christ, becoming more and more like Him every day, and doing so humbly.
Where are you in the process of becoming like Jesus? How would you define integrity? Let me know in the comments!
Blessings on your day!
Each week, Skipping Stones looks at a new topic or scripture with the purpose of growing in discipleship. Monday through Thursday the posts are shorter and provide a thought or two for you to mindfully consider as you go through the day. On Fridays I offer a longer post that looks at the subject of the week with a little more detail; and you have all weekend to read and reflect on your own walk with Christ!
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