A Person of Integrity
Psalm 112:1-10
August 5, 2018
For the next few weeks we are going to be looking at a couple of Psalms to see what they have to say about integrity! Integrity is a difficult word, because to so many people it has different meanings, as we’re about to see. Ultimately, we would all like to be called people of integrity. In fact, people will remember us for our integrity more than our accomplishments. They’ll forget about your sports, music and other accomplishments.
But if you are a person of integrity . . . they will never forget you.
The word integrity is never found in the NT. But it is found about 25 times in the OT. The same word is used over and over again in Hebrew. The word integrity in Hebrew means ~ completeness; and most often - - moral innocence.
The English dictionary defines integrity as ~ the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished; unimpaired, or perfect condition.
That gives us a basis for what we want to look at today. Of course integrity is rather subjective. We often come up with our own definition.
When other people hear the word, they pat themselves on the back with a sense of smug self-satisfaction. "Yes, I have integrity. Everyone knows it."
For example, you may interview someone for a job, and they may not pass your integrity test. It could be because of references, or the interview process. Yet, if others were to look at you, you may not pass their integrity test. Integrity is usually defined by our unique set of strengths, not by our unique set of weaknesses. That’s important to remember. It’s all about our perception.
That's why we have to be careful with how we use the word integrity. Everyone falls short on the integrity test in some areas.
If you were to grade yourself in some areas - - how would you do?
• Telling the truth
• My family life.
• Keeping your word. Doing what you said you would do.
• Being prompt and on time.
• Managing your money. Paying your bills, spending responsibly.
• Giving your company an honest day's work.
• Sharing credit. Giving people proper credit for what they do.
• What web sites are you looking at? What are you watching on TV?
• What about your vocabulary? What about gossip? Swearing?
• Generosity. Giving in church and sharing your blessings with others.
• Helping others.
• Managing emotions - Anger, envy, pride, bitterness, arrogance, patience
• Treating people with dignity
• Do you pray? Do you read the Bible?
We could add more, but you get the point, we grade others and ourselves on a number of different scales.
Understand that integrity involves every area of your life, not just the areas you're good at. And no matter where you’re at on the integrity spectrum, you can get better. It's not too late to make some changes.
I want us to look at Psalm 112. I’m going to read it, then we’ll break it down ~
1 Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments!
2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.
7 He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked man sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
the desire of the wicked will perish! — Psalm 112
So, where do we start? The Psalmist starts it off in verse 1. That’s a huge focus. The Psalmist wrote ~
1 Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments!
We read a number of times in the Bible that we are to fear the Lord. But we need to understand what this means. To fear the Lord - is not to be afraid like the Lord is going to send a giant lightening bolt and zap you. The point of fearing the Lord is ~
to have reverence, awe and a godly fear.
Integrity begins with proclaiming you are not God. It’s looking at God and having a deep, deep respect for God. It’s knowing that the world does not revolve around you. It’s admitting that you need God.
It’s also making it a point to have a relationship with God. You can’t revere God and not have a relationship with Him. It’s cultivating it, working at it, building the relationship so that when others look at you, they see the power of God in all you do.
Remember, integrity means to be whole, united, unimpaired, undivided. Which means when people look at you, they are seeing the One who is above all, Jesus.
We also see the Psalmist stating we greatly delight in God’s commands.
He’s really talking about a person who knows the difference between right and wrong - - and does what’s right.
You cannot be a person of integrity if you don’t follow God’s commands. A person of integrity desires to be obedience to God. People who don’t have integrity don’t care about God.
In fact, they don’t fear God. Why would you fear a God you don’t believe in. So, if they don’t believe in God, they don’t fear God, and as a result they aren’t going to follow God’s commands. They will loathe God’s commands. They find them foolish and stupid. They will do whatever pleases them, even if it hurts others. We find these people without integrity, as they are selfish, self-centered and arrogant.
Being a person of integrity means you need to fear the Lord and know His commands. It’s really starting at the basics - - it’s loving God with your heart, spirit, mind and body, then because of this you love your neighbor.
That’s the entire sum of how to live with integrity. But I’ll spell it out a little more.
So, what does integrity look like? The Psalmist gives us a few examples, some are pretty obvious. We see 3 actions in verse 4 ~
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is GRACIOUS, MERCIFUL, AND RIGHTEOUS.
The word gracious is really a word which is describing God. But it’s the only time it’s used to describe a person, and they are given the graciousness which God exhibits. That’s because the person is UPRIGHT. They are a righteous person, a person who seeks to do what is right and honorable and honoring to God.
When you are gracious, you are able to extend compliments to others. You are able to congratulate others when something good happens in their lives. It’s also about being an encourager to someone when they are down. Even if someone doesn’t succeed as they hoped for, you still can give them hope and encouragement. A person of integrity really is not a critic.
And the person is merciful or compassionate. It means you sit with a person when they are hurting. You don’t solve their problems, but you walk with them. You don’t judge them for their circumstances, you simply offer them yourself and your comfort, love and grace.
A person with integrity is also righteous! It simply means you do the right thing. Another way to say it is the person is UP-RIGHT. When you seek to do right, you pay your bills on time. You keep your promises. If you make a mistake, you correct it. You admit your sinfulness and ask for forgiveness. You are someone who when you give your word, people trust you.
The Psalmist then adds a little more about the person of integrity ~
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice.
9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
A person with integrity is also generous. They give to those in need. But also, they see the need. This past week, the hotel was very generous and gave us a free breakfast. There were no free breakfasts. And a typical breakfast cost about $15. That’s kind of pricey for a 3 egg omelette. The restaurant was empty and they were renovating and I don’t think our waitress was really a waitress. So, when we were don’t eating, I gave Debbie $20 to give to her as a tip. It’s less than we would have spent on breakfast going out. When Debbie gave it to her she looked at Debbie and said “Are you serious?” It’s giving to someone and not thinking twice about it, so you can help someone else.
When you see a need, when you see an opportunity to help, we are to help. Yes, we have to use wisdom and discretion. How can we give freely when we have plenty?
A person of integrity conducts their affairs with justice. Knowing what’s fair really comes from obeying God’s commands which we saw in verse 1. We should know when something is not fair and when something is. We’ve seen people in power hurt others, simply because they have the power. It was something about Jesus as well. He was meek, meaning He had the power, but chose not to use it.
The person of integrity does all things in a spirit of fair-mindedness, doing it with justice. Which means you are not being partial. It means being objective in all situations.
So, what’s the payoff? Why have integrity? In a cut throat, tremendously selfish world, why have integrity? Because it matters. It’s God’s call to you and I to show the world who He is by the way we live our lives. The psalmist wrote ~
6 For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.
7 He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
9 His righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor. — Psalm 112
Do you hear how the person of integrity will be thought of?
They will never be moved
They will be remembered forever.
They are not afraid of bad news - - WHY?
Their heart is firm in trusting God
Their heart is steady, they are not afraid of uncertain times
Their righteousness will last forever and their horn / their strength will be exalted.
That’s some pretty good stuff to hold onto for the person of integrity.
Not only that - - as verse 1 started out ~
1 Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man
Some Bible versions use the word HAPPY, but I don’t like that meaning. The person who is trusting the Lord, the person who is filled with integrity, isn’t just happy, they are blessed in the Lord.
"Blessed" is one of those religious words that you only hear when you're in church or when someone sneezes.
Have you ever been in a situation where something good happened, and you instinctively pumped your first and said, "Yes!" That's what being blessed is — having those "Yes!" moments again and again throughout the day, day after day.
You experience the power and presence of God throughout your day as you seek to honor and glorify God.
So, we’re taking a good look at a life of integrity. Think about it this week. When others look at you . . . what kind of person are they looking at?
