Maintaining Integrity (Even in this Economy)

Psalm 26:1
Declare me innocent, O Lord,
for I have acted with integrity;
I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.

When I read this short chapter in the Book of Psalms this week I was totally blown away. Have you ever opened the Bible and decided that you would read whatever text your eyes landed on first? If not, you should try it sometimes. It never fails that when I'm facing something specific and do this, the Divine guides me to exactly what I need to comfort my soul at that moment. Amazing!

Each of us at some point in our lives have been confronted with the idea of compromising our integrity. Either to cover for a friend who knows she's doing wrong or maybe even falsify information for an employer who believes that you want that job more than you want to do what's right. No matter what the circumstance is, we may only have a split second to make a decision that could ultimately rock our whole world.

So, what do you choose? Its easy to preach at people to "Do the right thing!" But, we all know that in reality, we feel for the bind our friend is in (even though she got herself there) and we know what our expenses are and "in this economy how hard it is to find a job." Yet, still what do we choose?

In my particular case, I chose integrity. And this is not to toot my own horn, but I will share why. The first time I thought I could go with the "best decision for my family" and keep my mouth shut, I immediately felt morally disgusted with myself. When you love God, as well as the God in you, your conscious just won't let you do some of things that were so easy at one time in your life. I couldn't sleep in peace at night anymore and I couldn't face the people I knew would be hurt by what I was asked to do. So, the second time around, (you should've known they'd come back again!), I respectfully declined to be involved, risking all that I thought was important. But oddly enough, the person who had asked me to be deceitful and manipulative along with them, could do nothing but respect me whether they liked it or not.

I still don't know what the future holds for this situation, but I take comfort in knowing that I have trusted in God and have done what's right. I made amends with the people that would've been affected had I continued on the destructive path and believe that God will declare me innocent.

Don't let the economy or any other circumstance force you into losing your integrity and any other moral trait which you pride. Watch out for the cues that unscrupulous people begin to hint towards when something is up their sleeves and be ready to trust God and shut them down immediately. Remember, if you choose to do what's right, your reputation will always take care of itself.

Seek Wisdom, Find Wealth & Maintain Your Integrity