Compromised Integrity

"I don't want the church to compromise its integrity to Keep people happy" -John Shelby

Recently, one of our DTS professors said, "my assignment in life is now becoming not just be a teacher but to be a policemen." By this he meant that he had to be constantly vigilant on the plagiarism issues. I vividly remember the several incidents of plagiarism, which made the Colombo Seminary faculty extremely angry and agitated. Some never learn, I remember once a graduating candidate inserting a bulk of internet material to his final detestation with out citing sources.

Few Pastors including 82 retired Pastors of California United Methodist Church are willing to perform gay and lesbian marriages by defying the rulings of the Church. The Methodist Book of Discipline sates "ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers and shall not be conducted in our churches." One minister said that she is acting to restore the integrity of the church: "I'm tired of being part of a church that lacks integrity," said the Rev. Janet Gollery McKeithen of Santa Monica's Church in Ocean Park, who plans to conduct weddings for two gay couples in August and September. "I love my church, and I don't want to leave it. But I can't be part of a church that is willing to portray a God that is so hateful. I would rather be forced out."[1]

Dr. Albert Mohler wisely says, "Integrity is crucial to the Christian ministry, and it is a word that is integral to the matter at hand. What makes the use of the word by these two pastors so disappointing -- and revealing -- is that the word is used to mask and justify an act that lacks all integrity." He ends his blog by saying, Sydney Biddle Barrows, the infamous "Mayflower Madam" convicted of running an elite prostitution service in the 1980s, once remarked, "I ran the wrong kind of business, but I did it with integrity." Misused in this way and employed as moral artifice, "integrity" is claimed where no real integrity can exist. There is no "integrity" in running a prostitution ring, and there is no integrity in defying ordination vows. [2]

We are living in a rule bending society. In today's culture integrity is on stake. Many rationalized the wrong. We see compromises on moral judgements, intellectual honesty, marital fidelity, sexual purity, ethical fairness, financial accountability, political transparency, journalistic accuracy, and so on. The place of work is the most prevalent place of compromise. Many Christians gave up to the group pressure and they feared that they would have not comply to the team unity. Pear-pressure melts away the strong hearts of integrity. If it is necessary to do wrong to stay on the team, great advice would be, you are in the wrong team. So quit it! It is far better to have a clear conscience rather than have success tainted with guilt conduct for eternity. It is amazing, how some Christians have the audacity to called them selves as followers of Christ, while contradicting it by their behaviour. No wonder the public are bewildered and confused by our hypocrisy of daily conduct.

The word integrity is coming from the the Latin integrites, which is from integer, meaning complete, whole or intact. The word can be define as steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code; a sate of being wholesome; unimpaired or the quality or condition of being complete or pure [3]. One can describe a person having "every thing that person does derives from the same core set of values [4]

Buddhists in Sri Lanka put its in Buddha's words (c. 530 B.C.):

"Yathawadhi thahakari; Thathawadhi yathakari"

"do what you say and say what you do!"

This represent the very verbatim of our Lord Jesus Christ's criteria for discipleship: "Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one" (Matthew 5:37; James 5:12).

There are two basic tests which brings up the character of integrity. Agur son of Jakeh puts it in this way:

" Two things I ask of you; do not deny them to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying [integrity]; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that I need, or I shall be full, and deny you, and say, 'Who is the LORD?' or I shall be poor, and steal, and profane the name of my God" (Proverbs 30:7-9).

These two tests are the test of adversity and the test of prosperity.

Man who have true integrity stays on the both test of adversity and the test of prosperity. Charles R. Swindoll says, "the real integrity stays in place whether the test is adversity or prosperity. The real integrity stays in place whether simple hard working individual working in obscurity or you sit in oval-office. It stays in place."

Our opinion poll shows the tendency towards character; However, the American public thinks otherwise. Recent surveys show Americans would prefer a president with skill rather than character.

These are the times we need people who live in high-level of judgement and integrity. The matured Christian character reveals the unmoving integrity both in scarcity and plenty. Paul says, " I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:12-13 ).

I have just ordered a copy of my friend and colleague Dr. Vinoth Ramachndra's new book. I remember the times we spent with him around the table-talks, discussing the theological applications for the contemporary public court, beyond our dusty text books. Vinoth so often throw me off-balance from my intellectual equilibrium by shooting piecing critiques. As Probo's recommendation, it was indeed an amazing read. Let me give you a gimps into the book on the theme of integrity: "some British Christians in India such as C.F. Andrews were criticizing British racism and advocating full independence for India rather than dominion status within the empire long before Gandhi and the Congress Party took it up in 1924. So impressed was Gandhi himself by Andrew's integrity that, in order to break the deadlock between Congress and the Muslim League, he made the remarkable proposal to the Victory Lord Mountbatten in 1947 that Andrews be appointed as the first president of independent India."[5]

We need people of integrity who will leave a remarkable legacy of higher model for generations to come.

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[1] http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-methodist17-2008jul17,0,484099.story

[2] http://www.AlbertMohler.com/blog.php

[3] http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/integrity

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrity

[5] Vinoth Ramachandra, Subverting Global Myths: Theology and the Public Issues Shaping Our World (Downers Grove: Intervarsity, 2008), 248.