Integrity

"If you don't get caught, it's not wrong." 

I overheard this statement being made by a five-year-old to his friend a number of years ago in my kindergarten class. The context was that of certain rules that may or may not be allowed in a soccer game but sadly, this particular child seemed to adopt this philosophy in many areas of his life. I was recently reminded of this incident after a discussion about integrity at my church.

Although it seems obvious that this child's thinking was clearly skewed, it made me realize that we as adults apply this type of reasoning to an astonishing amount of life situations and don't think anything of it. How many of us drive five miles over the speed limit because we are pretty sure law enforcement won't stop us until we are over ten miles? How many of us cheat (even ever so slightly) on our income taxes because we're gambling on the possibility we won't be audited? How many of us keep the extra change we were given by the clerk accidently? That's his/her mistake, right?

Now, lest you think I am writing this from atop my high horse, I am just as guilty as anyone else. We gamble nearly every day that if we are not seen doing something and we don't get caught, we're home free. The other day I was purchasing my daily Diet Dr. Pepper at Kum & Go (it's my only vise--leave me alone) when I noticed a dime and two pennies laying on the shelf below the counter. Someone had obviously failed to pick up their change. Without thinking, I scooped it up and dropped it into my purse. Immediately I was struck with a thought. What right did I have to take that money? It wasn't mine, it wasn't given to me, I had no claim to it. So I removed it from my purse and placed it in the box for donations to a local charity.

Do I believe that 12 cents would have placed my eternal soul in jeopardy? Of course not. But it did shock me somewhat that I didn't even hesitate at first. This business of integrity can be an extremely slippery slope. We see it all the time in high profile individuals who fall from grace for something that seems completely out of character for their position. We can't imagine how that person could have wandered so far away from what is morally right. My fear is that it started with 12 cents that didn't belong to them and someday it could be me that everyone is shocked to hear about.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23

My prayer today is that God will help me be a person of integrity so that everything flowing from my heart will be pleasing to Him.