Integrity…part II

So the more I think about it, the more I suspect that there are three fundamental parts to developing a life of integrity.  The first is espousing a belief about something…anything really.  I believe that snow days are fun (today just happens to be one for me here in t-dot).  If we don’t believe in anything then I think the quest for integrity is a silly notion.  Though…I think that it would be nearly impossible for someone to believe in nothing…I guess even that would be a belief of sorts.

The second part is acting out on this belief in a way that aligns oneself with it.  This morning I sent a Facebook message to several of my friends and requested an impromptu breakfast party.  Now that may, or may not, actually happen (depending on whether or not any of these people care to get out of bed and whether or not they have class).  But I am most certainly interested in using my new found morning to engage in fun activities – – like blogging.

The third part is really being upfront with people about what our belief is so that they can see that our actions and beliefs are consistent.  I think it is an accountability of sorts.  But this is the category where we usually find ourselves in trouble – I think so anyways.  Let me explain why:

I think that people, in general, espouse the beliefs of their families and friends.  One’s social setting is the framework for their system of belief.  And depending on the situation, it can be easy to hold an opposing view…or quite difficult.  So what ends up happening in tight knit communities, where individual thinking is not overly encouraged, is that people end up asserting things they really don’t believe – OR they end up acting in ways which wouldn’t match their assertions.  Either way, one of the first two principals is violated and our integrity in turn.

But this is most complicated and disturbing because it comes down to people being scared of letting people see their true beliefs and actions.  It is a deficiency in community, really.  People don’t want to feel judged, slighted or marginalized for ‘straying from the right path’ and so they simply sacrifice something to keep up appearances.  The pressures of ‘fitting in’ or ‘doing the right thing’ are too much for people sometimes and they end up feeling guilt even to the point of throwing in the towel.

Why do we, as Christians, feel that it is so important for people to live out our standards with such perfection?  Why do we preach a message of acceptance and forgiveness to the unbeliever and then drop the ax on someone who is already in the church?  It has done a great disservice to the Body of Christ – making us scared to think and act; to change and adapt…and has turned us into moralistic, sadistic, conformers…people who atone for our own sin by berating others.

I hope and pray that we can become people who are willing to work at developing and knowing what we believe to the point that we are willing to assert and live what we believe unashamedly.  Then I think we will be the kind of people that can show empathy and mercy; love and forgiveness to others.