Integrity at work
Look at Psalm 7, verse 8: "The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me."
Integrity's one of those big topics. You can't cover it all in one post, but here are some preliminary thoughts...
No "good person" wants to be thought of as lacking integrity. Who wants to hear someone say "He lacks integrity," where "he" means you? Heaven forbid! But our busy world really can push too many of us into leading lives that lack integrity.
What is integrity? A simple way to think about it is keeping your word.
Now here's a test. When you tell your child that you'll, let's say, take him or her to the park, but something "pressing" comes up and you don't, do you lack integrity? What, this has never happened to you? Great. For those of us who have missed a commitment, not so great.
Do you ever find yourself making commitments you ultimately don't keep? Pressed by work and family, some of us simply want to do "the right thing" or please those we love. But that's an attitude that can easily lead to problems with integrity.
What's really unnerving is how easy it is to make excuses. "I'll be home for dinner tonight" means just that. It doesn't mean "maybe." Sure, in certain, highly unusual circumstances we may have to call and say we're "running late." When it happens more than occasionally, you've got to ask yourself why.
Busy lives, such as many of us lead, can result in too many late arrivals, missed phone calls or appointments, incomplete assignments, etc. And all of that shows a lack of integrity.
When it comes to our work, it's easy to let integrity slip. So much to do in so little time. We want to do a good job. We want to be responsive, a good team player. Before you know it, you take on too much and - bingo - you start missing due dates, or start handing in work that's, well, sloppy or incomplete. The excuse: just get it done!
But at some level, you may be slipping into a life where integrity is lacking - both at home and on the job. More on this in the future...
Integrity's one of those big topics. You can't cover it all in one post, but here are some preliminary thoughts...
No "good person" wants to be thought of as lacking integrity. Who wants to hear someone say "He lacks integrity," where "he" means you? Heaven forbid! But our busy world really can push too many of us into leading lives that lack integrity.
What is integrity? A simple way to think about it is keeping your word.
Now here's a test. When you tell your child that you'll, let's say, take him or her to the park, but something "pressing" comes up and you don't, do you lack integrity? What, this has never happened to you? Great. For those of us who have missed a commitment, not so great.
Do you ever find yourself making commitments you ultimately don't keep? Pressed by work and family, some of us simply want to do "the right thing" or please those we love. But that's an attitude that can easily lead to problems with integrity.
What's really unnerving is how easy it is to make excuses. "I'll be home for dinner tonight" means just that. It doesn't mean "maybe." Sure, in certain, highly unusual circumstances we may have to call and say we're "running late." When it happens more than occasionally, you've got to ask yourself why.
Busy lives, such as many of us lead, can result in too many late arrivals, missed phone calls or appointments, incomplete assignments, etc. And all of that shows a lack of integrity.
When it comes to our work, it's easy to let integrity slip. So much to do in so little time. We want to do a good job. We want to be responsive, a good team player. Before you know it, you take on too much and - bingo - you start missing due dates, or start handing in work that's, well, sloppy or incomplete. The excuse: just get it done!
But at some level, you may be slipping into a life where integrity is lacking - both at home and on the job. More on this in the future...
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