Daily Encouragement: Year 1, Day 31
Adapted from Handbook to Leadership
Personal Development: Integrity
David had integrity because he consistently held to the same standard. When he wrote about that standard, he meant it. When he violated it, he called it sin—he never glossed it over, made excuses, or took it lightly. Psalms 32, 40, and 51 reveal that David’s sin broke his heart. He pleaded for forgiveness. He took his lumps. He learned and grew.
Does that excuse David’s sin? No! Does David’s story give today’s Christian permission to sin? Absolutely not. But integrity doesn’t demand perfection, either. Even the most morally committed people blow it. Integrity doesn’t guarantee a perfect life, but it does require an integrated life. People with integrity have a moral center that integrates their behavior. When they violate that moral center, they recognize that violation as sin and treat it as an aberration. They confess it, make restitution, seek forgiveness, and reconfirm the standard.
David would be scandalized if he were to learn that people were using his failure to justify their own sin. His prayers of repentance show us what to do when we violate our commitment to God’s standards and want to reestablish our integrity.