"Don't do as I do - do as I say!"

 

Does integrity matter in public life today? In an age of terminal truth decay and the practised art of lying, have we given up hoping that those who lead, in government, business or church, can be trusted? And if they can't, do they deserve their position and the rewards that come with it? Or, have we become so innured to the problems of betrayal and half-truths that we shrug our shoulders and say, wearily, 'well, what more do you expect?'

I define integrity as the state of being where your outsides match your insides, and what you see is all there is. It is often revealed by how we behave when we think that nobody else is watching.

Dallas Willard, author of the book Renovation of the Heart, tells of a pastor who became very angry over a perceived mistake during a service and at the end got hold of the person responsible in a side room and let rip with a tirade of a merciless rebuke. The trouble was that the preacher had left his radio mic on and his furious rant was broadcast over the church audio system for all to hear, even in the church car-park! That pastor moved to another town shortly afterwards. 

But then, shouldn't we always be aware that the audience to our words and actions may be a lot wider than we imagine? In this day when cameras are everywhere and CCTV watches every move we make, we can hardly do or say anything without some kind of witness. Emails and WhatsApp messages come back to haunt people years after they were written. In a sense, our words and actions simply reflect our inner thoughts and motives. As Jesus said, it is not what enters into our bodies that defiles us, but that which proceeds out of our hearts.

Integrity and character do matter in leadership if people are to trust us. The apostle Paul set out his own approach to the subject in 2 Corinthians 6 when he said that he was determined not to put any 'stumbling-block' in anyone's path, so that his ministry would not be discredited. He also described himself as 'genuine, though regarded as imposters' (v 8). But the ultimate example of trustworthy leadership is Jesus, who lived and died for the sake of others, not for himself.

I am not wanting to make a political statement here, as others must make their own decsions on such things, but we should pray for those in authority both in the church and the world, that truth, honesty and integrity might be restored in our day.

Trust me - it matters!

What we are in the Dark

Watching the leadership hustings from Birmingham today I was struck by a question that was booed by the audience. The chairman asked Prime-ministerial candidate Boris Johnson if what goes on in a person's private life is of any relevance to their suitability for high office. He refused to answer and was cheered by the audience of Conservative Party members. That got me thinking.

Surely integrity and trustworthiness in private life does matter when it comes to selecting who should lead a nation? Integrity means completeness or wholeness. We might use it to describe a building that is well put together so that it can withstand bad weather. When applied to people, it speaks about consistency between each facet of our lives, private and public, family and front-line - when the light is on us and when it is not. It's what we are when no-one is watching!

So, the driving instructor needs to be morally trustworthy when spending long hours with students. The policeman that attends vulnerable people caught up as victims of crime must not view them as fair game to be used. And if a Prime minister or President expects to be believed when they make promises then they must be promise keepers in their private lives too.

Integrity is not perfection, as if it was, none of us could ever stand or lead. We all fall short of God's standard - which is Christ - in so many ways. God loves us as we are, but he loves us too much to leave us that way. The whole point of redemption is that we can repent and start again. But as Konrad Adenaur, onetime Chancellor of West Germany said, 'To fall is neither dangerous or disgraceful. But to remain prostrate is both'.