Episode 842 Do You Have Integrity
[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: [00:00:00] Thanks for joining me on episode 842 of the inspired stewardship podcast.
[00:00:06] Al Comeaux: [00:00:06] I'm Al Comeaux. I challenge you to invest in yourself, invest in others, develop your influence and impact the world by using your time, talent and treasures to live out your calling. Having the ability to manage change is key. And one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this.
[00:00:27] The inspired stewardship podcast. With my friends, Scott Maderer
[00:00:34] Scott Maderer: [00:00:34] And in fact, you can do that for a long time. I've seen people who do that, and what's more eventually they're found out and what they are, the house of cards comes Trump crumbling down and falls down around them. Because the truth is yes, honesty is part of integrity. Welcome. And thank you for joining us on the inspired [00:01:00] stewardship podcast.
[00:01:01] If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent and your treasures for your true calling in the inspired stewardship podcast. We'll learn to invest in yourself. Invest in others. And develop your influence so that you can impact the world.
[00:01:22]And today's spiritual foundation episode about investing in others. I talk with you about the definition of integrity. I share two Proverbs about integrity and why these are still true today. And I also share why honesty and integrity are related, but not the same thing. Let's talk about integrity. The definition of integrity, according to the dictionary, it says it's a noun and it includes the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles or moral uprightness.
[00:01:56] The second definition is the state of being whole and [00:02:00] undivided. And it's actually the second one that I think is sometimes overlooked and more important than the first. We'll talk a little while about why in my head, I don't think of integrity and honesty as exactly the same thing. Instead. I think integrity is a little deeper than that, but first let me share a couple of Proverbs that actually reference integrity.
[00:02:26] The first one comes from Proverbs chapter 10, verse nine. It says whoever walks in integrity, walks securely, but he who makes his way crooked will be found out. What's interesting is if you look at this proverb, it's part of the wisdom literature, it's part of the Proverbs of Solomon. And in this whole section, it's talking about what happens if you live.
[00:02:52] In an way. It basically includes things like treasures gained by wickedness, do not profit, but [00:03:00] righteousness delivers from death. In other words, if you're stealing from people at the end of the day, it's going to come back to haunt you. The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thought the cravings of the wicked Slack hand causes pro poverty.
[00:03:13] In other words, you need to work, but the hands of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer as a prudent son. So there's a whole bunch of these little sayings of wisdom. And what's interesting is right after the one that says the wise of heart rule will save commandments, but a babbling fool will come to ruin, is this whoever walks in integrity, walks securely, but he who makes his way crooked will be found out.
[00:03:38] And right after that is whoever winks, the eye causes trouble and a babbling fool will come to ruin. No, the truth is all of this literature is about having a whole life of integrity, having a life that whether you're on the stage or off the stage, whether in your front of people or you're behind the scenes, you're acting the [00:04:00] same way.
[00:04:00] You're speaking the same way. You're doing things. Not because they get you a quick and easy answer, but because they're the right things to do. And then in Proverbs chapter 28, verse six, it says better as a poor man who walks into his integrity than our rich man who is crooked in his ways. Again, it's in this long passage, this long set of wise sayings, the wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
[00:04:31] In other words, don't live in fear, a poor man who oppresses the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food. If you're taking advantage of the poor, then you're wiping their mouth. This is not a good thing. Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely. And immediately after that, one is better as a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.
[00:04:56] And right after that, the one who keeps the laws of sun with [00:05:00] understanding, but a command companion of gluttons shames his father. Another words again, everything in this series of why sayings is about living a life of wholeness. It's about being. Consistent in who you are, what you say, what you do, how you act.
[00:05:18] And I think that consistency is what is so important today because the truth is in today's world. It's so easy to pretend to be something that you're not to put out on social media and other things, this fake life, and expect everyone to just buy it and believe that's true. That's who you are. And in fact, you can do that for a long time.
[00:05:41] I've seen people who do that and what's more eventually they're found out. And when they are, the house of cards comes Trump crumbling down and falls down around them because the truth is yes, honesty is part of integrity, walking the walk, talking the [00:06:00] talk, telling the truth is part of integrity, but it's not the whole thing.
[00:06:06] Because it's also about acting in consistency around who you are it's and to do that, you have to actually under stand who you are. The truth is most people, don't really know who they are. Yeah. And we're going to talk some this week about how finding out who you are is actually as an important part of building your life.
[00:06:32] We're going to talk about that on Wednesday. When we talk about intentionality around our life. Thanks for listening.
[00:06:40]thanks so much for listening to the inspired stewardship podcast. As a subscriber and listener, we challenge you to not just sit back and passively listen, but act on what you've heard and find a way to live your calling. If you enjoy this episode, do me a favor, [00:07:00] go over to facebook.com/inspired stewardship and like our Facebook page and market that you'd like to get notifications from us so that we can connect with you on Facebook and make sure that we're serving you to the best of our abilities with time and tips there until next time, invest your time.
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