Weekly Thought- October 22, 2024
Fred valued his reputation as a man of integrity. Offers of financial gain, elevated status, and public acclaim were made during his life. He held to his credo – his statement of belief which he developed as a young man. He avoided traps by knowing the Rock upon which his life was built.
Integrity in Motive
Integrity starts with motive. I can’t ever be totally honest for I have a sin nature. But I can avoid being dishonest. Dishonesty is a decision.
Rationalization does more to pollute our integrity of motive than any other psychological tool. It attempts to excuse our lack of integrity. We repeatedly hear, “Everyone else is doing it.” Or, how many times do we hear “Times have changed – this is what works today.” Too often we hear “I had no choice if I wanted to win.” One of the saddest is, “I had to go along with the majority even though I knew they weren’t right.”
The argument that choosing even a wrong path which will ultimately produce good is a lie which is too often accepted. “The end justifies the means” is attributed to Machiavelli, the political theorist. In God’s economy this philosophy fails. He doesn’t support this thinking. He doesn’t find shortcuts which lead to a win. He is sovereign and the plan is His. He wants our motives to be reflections of His righteousness.
Our maturity in Christ is the goal. Picking the easy way, even when it opens the door to shady choices is counter productive. When our children were young Mary Alice and I reminded them “two wrongs don’t make a right.”
There is a process to rationalization. First, we convince ourselves that winning, succeeding, achieving, or even growing an organization may require a few steps off the straight and narrow, but the end result will benefit so many the decision makes sense. The next phase is convincing others of the plan, bringing them into the “in the end it will be the best” strategy. Finally, the Christian attempts to convince God of the choice. When the outcome is seen to be seriously flawed, the conversation with God changes confession into explanation.
This week carefully consider: 1) How do I evaluate my motives in making key decisions? 2) Who is my strong ally who speaks truth to me? 3) What red flags do I have established as measures of my motives?
Words of Wisdom: “He wants our motives to be reflections of His righteousness.”
Wisdom from the Word: “The one who conducts himself in integrity will live securely, but the one who behaves perversely will be found out.” (Proverbs 10:9 NET Bible)