How Do I Keep My Integrity Intact

Ezekiel 18:18-28
Matthew 5:20-26

In today’s gospel, Jesus offers us a guide on integrity. What is integrity? It is adherence to moral principles and values or staying true to yourself and your word even when you are faced with serious consequences for the choice you are making. There is nothing to fear; nothing to hide. Virtue and righteousness are deep values and inner treasures, and to live by them allows God’s reign – a reign of love – to grow in our world.

God reveals to us over a lifetime who were truly are. However, the development of our capacity to hear God’s voice and to know ourselves is achieved by accepting the need to be guided in this endeavour. Jesus stresses the need to ‘go deeper’ to reach into our true nature if we are to face life and live it as a child of God.
Thus, to follow Jesus means to live from inner motivations and values, values that are God-given and lead us to behave in deeply human ways and not merely external compliance with the minimum standards of civility and law.

In a world where headlines are often dominated by people who make the wrong choices, people who make the right ones can seem to be rare. However, it feels good to live and work with integrity and, when we become known for this highly valued trait, our lives and our careers can flourish.

Let us, remember that in times of anger, forgiveness, fear, disaster and chaos, the temptation is even greater to make a wrong choice. Use these opportunities to demonstrate your true character. Keep to your word and do not make promises you cannot keep.

Let us, therefore, from our very depths bring the light of Christ into the world by striving to tame angry moments, embrace good relations, and allow forgiveness to surface and guide our actions.

Fr Joseph Osho