"Living the Truth--The Freedom of Integrity"

"Living the Truth--The Freedom of Integrity"
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“Walking on Water—the Sea of Galilee”

“Walking on Water—the Sea of Galilee”

Paul N. Anderson

Chapter 5

Living the Truth—The Freedom of Integrity

Jesus says in the Gospel of John, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32) But what does that mean for you and me in terms of integrity? Where embracing the truth about oneself leads to personal transformation, where encountering the truth of God leads to authentic worship, where glimpsing truth in the face of the other leads to compassionate concern, and where the way of truth poses alternatives to violence, living in the truth celebrates the freedom of integrity. After all, Jesus says, “Let your ‘yes’ be yes, and your ‘no’ be no” (Matt 5:37; cf. also James 5:12); and, “By their fruit you will know them” (Matt 7:16, 20). Whereas duplicity leads to bondage, living with integrity leads to freedom.

Living the truth involves a match between what one professes and what one does. The opposite is hypocrisy. It also involves coherence between what one aspires and what one achieves. Therefore, aspects of integrity are both inward and outward in their origins and measures. The word “integrity” stems from the word integer, which means unity. A single digit (an integer) is one number only, not more or less than that. And, so it is with projects, ventures, and persons. Living with integrity implies unity between the outward and the inward, and that unity instills confidence on behalf of others, and likewise within oneself. Compromised integrity, however, creates instability, both publicly and personally.

With corporate ventures and programs, professional integrity implies a unity between what a group declares to be its mission and the ways it operates and actually delivers corporately. With persons and individuals, personal integrity relates to the matching of one’s professed values and one’s performed behaviors. Where a business or program is found to be lacking between what it promises and what it delivers, this creates a lack of trust, and potential customers and patrons naturally stay away. Further, those doing business with integrity-deficient enterprises will be likely disappointed. Likewise, where individuals are perceived to be duplicitous, this creates mistrust rather than confidence among others. Therefore, even if talent and ability are in play, if persons’ values are not replicated in their words and deeds, they forfeit the confidence of others; it cannot be otherwise.

So it is also with the integrity of composition—both of things and persons. Regarding things and objects, structural integrity involves the stability and material unity of a building or a piece of construction. Regarding people and subjects, personal integrity has to do with the unity between one’s inward and outward being. Compromised structural integrity within a building implies weakness and lack of stability, and compromised personal integrity implies duplicity and unreliability. Whereas one’s values might be commendable, if one does not live into those values in word and deed, this incongruity creates a crisis of confidence both outwardly and inwardly. Not only does one’s reputation suffer, but one also comes to doubt oneself.

These doubts then lead to defensiveness and anxiousness. Given one’s awareness of questioned integrity, people tend to resort to excuses or deflection rather than facing head on into the painful truth of one’s shortcomings. Rather than welcoming critique as an opportunity for improvement, criticism becomes threatening, and even the motives of otherwise helpful critics come into question at times because of one’s insecurity. As a result, insecurity tends to escalate unless the incongruity is acknowledged, and inward-outward integrity is restored; it cannot be otherwise.

In addition to corporate and individual aspects of integrity being of paramount importance, the values of institutions and movements must be matched by the examples their leaders and members, lest those values be denied and compromised. For instance, if a bank’s mission is to instill trust in its customers, its employees cannot be perceived as engaging in graft or the mismanagement of funds if the bank’s services are to be trusted. Likewise in public service, if a political organization stands for upholding the rights of individuals or groups, but its leaders are then found to be taking advantage of such, the individual leaders and the organization will forfeit the confidence and support of their constituencies.

Even in entertainment, while celebrities and athletes might wish to excuse themselves of being responsible role models (“I’m not a role model; I’m an athlete,” so the professional might claim), if their public behaviors and attitudes and behaviors are perceived as less then exemplary among their fans and audiences, their appeal and support will inevitably suffer. Parents will stop buying tickets to games, and home audiences will switch channels. Public support is never a right; it is always a privilege. If such is the case regarding entertainment, how much greater is the case when related to public service or the mission of an enterprise. Therefore, unless leaders and members of an organization exemplify the values of that group, they will either forfeit the privileges of leadership, or they will force a change in the group’s values; it cannot be otherwise.

That’s the way it is with integrity between held convictions and values and performed behaviors and actions. Personal integrity involves freedom, whereas compromised integrity instills insecurity. Likewise, coherence between principles and outcomes provides a solid basis upon which to stand, and living the truth displays the power of integrity.

The Freedom of Integrity

“I am NOT in denial!” So goes the protest of one who is threatened by the truth. When people feel bound by the lack of unity between what they espouse and what they do, this creates dissonance. And, it should. Sometimes it is easier to see the contradictions in the lives of others than it is within ourselves; this is understandable. We might extend ourselves latitude if we feel our motives are pure, and yet others might see our flaws more clearly. They are thus more likely to be aware of our incongruities than we are, and the one seeking the truth about oneself will welcome the truth as a friend.

Therefore, real friends and loved ones offer us a service by letting us know how we actually come across, rather than our assuming how that might be so. In welcoming the truth about how we are perceived by others, though, all criticisms can be embraced and weighed regarding their potentially liberating effect. Rather than feeling defensive, the one aspiring to the truth will welcome all input—whether positive or negative—privileging the truth over and above false flattery or affirmation. Such is a person with integrity.

Sometimes incongruities, though, are simply the result of things we overlook. We might not even be aware of ways we come across, and they often are not intentional. So, the way to deal with our blind spots is to invite feedback. If trusted others let us know how we’re coming across, that can be a great gift, and constructive criticism helps us improve. Or, sometimes we advocate a value or a standard precisely because we aspire to live up to it ourselves, and yet, because we’ve not yet arrived, we get caught in the gap between our aspirations and our actualities. In welcoming the truth about ourselves, though, we can also laugh at ourselves, embracing the ironies as foibles we endure on the way to becoming more fully what God wants us to be.

More serious than incongruity, though, is hypocrisy. Hypocrisy involves the knowing failure to match our stated convictions with our character, words, or deeds. Again, some of this incongruity may reflect the fact that we wish we were doing better than we are, even though we have not fully achieved the standards to which we aspire. The recourse in that case is to also model humility. As the

Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:12, “Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” And, we never fully arrive at our goals, but we are always in the process of becoming all that God wants us to be. Therefore, confessing our aspirations as well as our shortcomings is the way of authenticity, and appreciating the gaps between them is enough to keep us humble as we endeavor to abide in the truth.

For the follower of the one who is the way, the truth, and the life, however, there can be no room for deception. This is where confession of sin, or of shortcomings, makes the way possible for repentance and change. In many cases, the attempts to cover one’s deeds are even worse than the transgressions themselves, and many a public figure adds duplicity to embarrassment by seeking to cover up the truth rather than facing into it. And, reasons for this being problematic are also understandable. If a leader is found to be untrustworthy in one situation, this jeopardizes their capacity to engender trust on other matters. Therefore, openness and honesty—living in the truth fully and freely—is a liberating way of being. Alternatives involve bondage and enslavement; living with nothing to hide is indeed truly liberating!

On Principle and Outcomes—The Integrity of Values

As people seek to further the truth in the world, aspiring to maximize the good and to minimize the evil, moral considerations come into play. From the front end, standing with principle becomes a means of articulating what is right and calling for adherence to it. From a Christ-centered perspective, embracing actions that are rooted in the love of God and the love of neighbor becomes a way forward. By this definition, that which is rooted in honoring God first and affirming what is in the best interest of the other offers a way forward in thinking about how to be and what to do. Or, asking the question, “What would Jesus do?” helps us focus on how to respond to a particular situation with creativity and concern. Love may also involve sacrifice, but when the goal is to extend the love we have received from God to the needs of others, that process will always be contextual in its application. After all, Jesus said that his disciples will be known in the world by the love they have for one another (John 13:34-35), and this is the new commandment he offers us as his followers.

In addition to principles at the start, however, we also find ourselves thinking about the importance of measuring outcomes as a result of our actions. Our intentions might be truly honorable and commendable, but what happens if unintended consequences create other hardships we’d not anticipated? Or, some things involve a tradeoff. Sometimes one good is furthered at the expense of another. Therefore, even in implementing the most loving of intentions, the wellbeing of others or the honoring of God might be jeopardized. For instance, in wanting to keep violence from victimizing one group of people, the resorting to violence against the other group might involve victimization in another direction. Therefore, considering the love-related impact of one’s actions must be held in tension with one’s love-related motives at the outset.

In the light of these concerns, endeavoring to embrace a coherent ethic poses a workable way forward. Insuring that love of God and others is at the root of one’s motives as well as at the anticipated outcome of one’s actions provides a means of maximizing an ethic with integrity and coherence. It might even be that a prayerful approach to problem solving would open up new sets of possibility hitherto unimagined. A good deal of evil is legitimated on the basis that one must choose between only two available options, when the Holy Spirit can always open us to a third alternative that had not been envisioned before. Therefore, when seeking to embody one’s values with inward and outward integrity, our approach might not simply be limited to a set of ethical codes or considerations. We might also cultivate an ethos—a way of being—wherein new possibilities emerge, and love becomes realized in new and creative ways.

Living the Truth—The Power of Integrity

As we seek to live the truth, several empowering things happen to us inwardly and outwardly. Inwardly, a sense of confidence emerges precisely because we feel we have nothing to hide. Our lives can be presented as an open book to others, and we feel emboldened by having embraced the truth and having lived with integrity. Of course, no one is perfect, so a humbled sense of grace received and graciousness extended becomes our posture and stance. As a result, faithfulness in living then results in personal confidence. Letting one’s yes be yes and one’s no be no also emboldens one to take a stand when needed because one’s reputation is also beyond question. If one stands for principle and process when it is inconvenient personally, that speaks well for standing for the same when it might seem advantageous to oneself. Therefore, the power of integrity liberates one to speak and act freely, seeing God as one’s audience and judge rather than the world. And, when one’s eye is single, one’s heart is full of light (Matt 6:22; Luke 11:34).

Another empowering result of living the truth is that we are given creativity of expression. When one is committed to the right values and outcomes, there are always a number of ways to do effective problem solving. Effective leaders know this, and they help others partner together in working toward creative solutions that really make a difference. Indeed, the greatest leadership one can offer is to facilitate the attending, discerning and obeying of the truth on any given issue. And, when that happens, groups coming to unity with a shared sense of understanding and ownership of a decision made are always more effective and efficient in carrying it out. That’s what good leadership does. As Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will guide believers in the ways of truth and during times of trial (Mark 13:11) and when they need guidance (John 14:26; 16:13), effective leaders help Christ lead the church. When that happens in unity, the vitality among Jesus’ followers is explosive and world changing.

The early church experienced precisely this guidance in the Jerusalem Council, as James helped leaders distinguish the weighty issues from the symbolizing ones. In determining that circumcision was not the requirement for Gentile believers (the symbolizing issue) but that moral behaviors were the concern (the central issues), the early Christians came to unity around the belief that one need not become Jewish ceremonially to receive the blessings availed to the children of Abraham in the new covenant offered by Jesus as the Messiah/Christ. “It seemed right to the Holy Spirit and to us” was the claim (Acts 15:28), and in seeking the truth of Christ, as conveyed by the Holy Spirit, there is never a time where alternatives to the norm and creative ways forward are inaccessible to believers. For those seeking to abide in the truth, creative guidance is always a possibility.

A final empowering feature of abiding in the truth relates to minding the pure opening. When one seeks to live with integrity, one is always mindful that there are many ways of getting there. The map is not the territory, but if one has a general sense of direction, ways open in the wilderness. Valleys are raised up, and mountains are brought low, making a level pathway for the Lord’s ways to be discerned and traveled (Isa 40:3-4). Roadways in the wilderness emerge, rivers in the desert are formed (Isa 41:18; 43:19), and for those seeking to be led of the Lord darkness is even turned into light before them (Isa 42:16).

As John Woolman sought to attend and mind the pure and true leadings of Christ through the Holy Spirit, amazing things happened. He challenged the injustices of slavery, he called for the disuse of products that brought injury to the manufacturers, and he called for economic standards of “universal righteousness,” wherein good could be shared with those in need and concerns for the poor could bring about structural reform within the worlds of business and commerce. Therefore, living with integrity—minding the truth in all ways possible—not only leads to personal wholeness; it has the capacity to be redemptive and liberating within society at large, as well.

These are just a few of the ways that living with integrity—living the truth inwardly and outwardly—brings about liberation. When one’s word can be trusted, stability in society results. When one asks a fair price, children can be sent to the store for a loaf of bread without fear of being cheated. When one’s values are replicated by one’s actions and attitudes, one leads by example. And, as there is no authority save moral authority, abiding in the truth testifies to the transformative power of truth with the life of the individual and within society at large.

After all, by the fruit is the species of the tree identified. A fig tree does not produce olives, nor does a grapevine bear figs (James 3:12). Those who abide in the truth and walk in the light therefore become children of the day and of the light (1 Thes 5:5). As his followers embrace the liberating power of integrity, not only is Christ the light of the world (John 8:12), but so are his followers (Matt 5:14).

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