Have you ever glanced through the newspaper, only to find your eyes fixated on a picture in front of you? Your heart sinks. You can’t believe what you see. Your friend of many years has his mugshot right there in the newspaper. Two questions storm through your mind: “What in the world? How did this happen?”This recently happened to me. A friend of nearly 15 years made a terrible decision, and now his world is crumbling.
I once read a book that had the quote, “Integrity: Don’t leave home without it!” The author revealed that if you want to make a difference in the world, the single most important trait is not intelligence, passion, or even perseverance – it’s integrity.
The author also contended that our lives have four distinct spheres. Our private life, where our most personal thoughts reside, is often referred to as our “secret place.”
Many of us have close friends who, no matter what, are there to stand in the gap. We grant them the privilege to enter our personal life with the freedom to be an encourager as well as a disciplinarian to us. I call these friends my “5,” and each of them are incredibly important in my walk through life.
Our professional life consists of many people who know us personally. This may be at our civic organization, church, or golf club. I guess we could refer to this area of our life as the “marketplace.”
Finally, we come to our public life. One of my 5 and I were recently talking about how quickly we form an opinion about someone we don’t even know. We all do it. We see a sports figure, movie star, or even a minister on television or in public, and we immediately move them into a category.
This brings me back to my friend whose mugshot was recently in the newspaper. Why did he do this? What was the root cause of his actions, which were bathed in poor judgement and lacked integrity? Likely, he will lose, his family will be destroyed, his professional license revoked, and many of his friends will dissociate.
Certainly, this friend’s public image has been tarnished forever. I’m not saying that any of us are without flaws, but some decisions have consequences that last a lifetime, and the book I previously referenced indicated that everything we say and do is rooted in our private life. The author asserted that our integrity stems from this inner code that we develop with God.
Maybe this point is best illustrated in the homes that were hit by Hurricane Michael. All the homes on the beach had a beautiful facade before the storm, but the homes that were built with a strong structural integrity weathered the storm much better than those that were not. When life’s “storms” hit, it’s our inner core that keeps our foundation strong.
“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out,” (Proverbs 10:9).
to your business!