Integrity
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“…I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar.” – Psalm 101:2-3 (NLT)
I mentioned, a few weeks ago, that I hoped to be consistent this year with posting the scripture verses that the kids and I are memorizing and why we’re memorizing them. We’ve just started our third week of school and today we began studying a new verse. (The kids constantly amaze me with how quickly they can memorize scripture!)
Today we began Psalm 101:2-3 in the New Living Translation. I almost always use the NIV, but I really like the way this verse reads in the NLT. I chose this scripture because it contains a truth that I want written on my children’s hearts — I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. Even when no one else is around — even when no one is looking — I will lead a life of integrity. Of course, my kids know that there is One who is always watching, but sometimes that can be easy to forget when you’re feeling tempted.
We’re studying a new vocabulary word each week this year, too. This week’s word is integrity. The SAT vocabulary word book that we’re using defines integrity as “holding firmly to values, such as honesty.” I told the kids that integrity means being the same person that you are in front of people, even when no one else is around; it’s making the right choice even if no one but you is going to know.
How many times have you had a choice about your integrity? You know, when the teller gives you back too much cash or the item you’re buying rings up for much less than it should?
I know that I’ve been faced with those choices before and I haven’t always taken the high road. The guilt I’ve suffered and the damage to my testimony as a Christian — even if I’m the only one who knows — was not nearly worth the temporary pleasure of having a little extra money.
I know that I’ve watched things that I shouldn’t have watched or said things that I shouldn’t have said. Even though other people may forget my shortcomings, I don’t forget them…and neither does Satan, who likes to use them to gain a foothold in my life or to guilt-trip me into hiding from my Savior.
I know that my kids are going to make their own mistakes in live and I’m sure to make more in my life, but I hope that when I am tempted, this verse will come to my mind and I will make the right choice — not to sell my integrity for a few dollars or a few minutes of “fun.”
What scripture verses have spoken to you and your family lately?
Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.