Integrity

Prov 19:1 When you think of integrity, what comes to mind? Integrity has the meaning of moral uprightness or honesty. Over and over, the Proverbs writer says integrity is the key to God’s blessing a person. One may be wealthy but still, be like a fool. We should take heed to the words of this writer because the man who lacks this character quality is incomplete in his understanding of wisdom, which is apparent in their speech and actions.

King Ahab and his wife Jezebel comes to mind as biblical characters that lack integrity. Naboth, the vineyard keeper,  lived next door to the palace, and he tended his land because it was his ancestral inheritance, and he would not relinquish it even for a penny—even to a king! It was not the money, but it all boiled down to integrity. On the other hand,  King Ahab wanted Naboth’s vineyard, so he stooped to deceit and murder to get it. God told Elijah to tell Ahab that He would bring disaster upon his ancestral line because of his sin of murder and his lack of integrity.

The lesson for us is in the proverb: God doesn’t look at your “piggybank;” He looks for someone who exemplifies integrity.