The Security of Integrity

My devotional reading this morning included Proverbs Chapter 10. Verse 9 reads, “He who walks with integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will become known.”

As media headlines remind us, things that are done in the deep past, as well as the present, can be revealed for all to see. Paul writes (1 Timothy 5:24 - 25), “Some men’s sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.”

When we live with integrity we live in the security of a clear conscience. When we do wrong and confess to God and apologize to others and do our best to make things right we reinforce our security. I once worked for the owner of a firm that practiced apologizing, when he realized he was wrong he not only told the person he’d wronged, he told all associated with the wrong. This man developed a capacity for listening to others tell him the truth; he may not have always liked what he heard, and he may not have always agreed with it, but no one had to fear for his or her job.

Then there are “leaders” and organizations that promote a tacit understanding that there is a time and place for the truth and a time and place for “spin” - which is of course lying and twisting the truth. There are also cultures that promote a tacit understanding that those in authority need not adhere to the same ethical and moral standards expected of their employees. We see this in headlines today regarding the entertainment and political worlds, but we also see it in less glamorous business cultures. No employee is safe in such a corporate culture, for he or she never knows who is next to be taken advantage of, violated, or be expected to look the other way. There are corporate cultures where middle managers find themselves either functioning as a safe place for their employees or they buy into the narcissistic thinking and behavior of their executives and mimic it.

Living with integrity in the workplace not only provides security for the woman or man doing her or his best to live a thoughtful moral and ethical life, it can also provide security for the people around her or him. Employees need to know they are working in a safe environment for a safe leader, a leader who will not manipulate, violate, or take advantage of his position, a leader whose way of life is one of integrity; a leader who, when he makes mistakes, is quick to acknowledge them and apologize and make things right. They also need to know that they have a leader who thinks and behaves the same at 8:00 PM at a function hundreds of miles away from home as he does when home with his wife and family.

There is security in integrity, both for the person practicing integrity and for those around that person.