By Misty Wells
“…and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.” Job 2:3
“…till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.” Job 27:5
“The integrity of the upright shall guide them: But the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.” Proverbs 11:3
If there was ever a situation that merited a lack of integrity, it would have to be in the story of Job. Here we see a man who honors the Lord. He loves his family and is continually sacrificing on their behalf. The Lord says that he is a perfect and upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil. There was no one else like him in all the earth. As you know, Job suffered great loss. His flocks were stolen and many of his servants were murdered in their attempt to protect Jobs' property.
If this news isn’t bad enough, he hears that all ten of his precious children are killed due to a windstorm that caused the home they were in to fall on top of them. To “encourage” Job, dear friends came and accused him of being deserving of this devastation. One after the other, everything he has ever loved or cared for is taken from him without cause. Eventually, Jobs’ own health is affected with terrible boils covering his body from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. In Job 30:10, the Bible speaks of youth that abhor Job and even go so far as to spit in his face.
Surely, this man has a right to remove his integrity!
The word integrity in the book of Job means to be complete, without blemish, sincere, and upright. It can also mean to be sound and whole. One would think that Job had a cause that was great enough to speak without soundness of mind, to allow his character to be blemished or spotted, to carry himself in a way that was not upright. Shouldn’t it be okay for Job to be insincere and incomplete? He has a right to lash out and mar his testimony with all that he’s been through! Or does he?
I know of several ladies who have gone through unimaginable heartbreak and still their integrity remains.
In their effort to follow integrity, they had a tremendous effect on those around them. Their children were able to see their continued faithfulness, in spite of painful loss. Suffering is an undesired calling, but the Bible says in Romans 3:18 “…that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Through their circumstance, they honored the Lord and stayed faithful to the God Who allowed such tragedy. Today as they are on the other side, they are being used by God more than ever before. Family means more to them than it ever has. Their character went unblemished, and their testimony remains sure.
They are enjoying the blessings of God without regret.
We’ve all been through a situation that tempted us to set our integrity aside. Many times we have done so because we thought we had a right to. Proverbs 11:3 says,“The integrity of the upright shall guide them: But the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.” No cause is so great that we should fail to retain our integrity. According to Proverbs 11:3, our integrity is a guide to the upright. We need His direction in our life.
We need integrity.
Integrity is an attribute that can be let go of and the outcome of such a release may be devastating to our character. We must not remove it regardless of our circumstances. No situation merits a lack of integrity, not even in the life of Job. What or who has caused you to consider responding without integrity? I want to encourage you to retain it!
The Bible tells us that the Lord blessed the latter end of Jobs' life more than his beginning. All that he had was restored and more. He was privileged to see four generations grow up before him. He had no regrets of walking through hardships with a lack of integrity, and he was able to enjoy the blessings of God without apology. My prayer is that you will handle your circumstance with a sound mind in sincerity and wholeness. May your character be unblemished and your testimony sure.
Above all, I pray that your integrity will be unremoved.