Get the Results You Want
February 10, 2020Nasty is the new normal
February 12, 2020It has been said that integrity is demonstrated by how you act when no one is watching. That’s an okay explanation but it doesn’t go far enough. Since “integrity” is a Biblical concept it’s important we allow Scripture to interpret Scripture.
In Hebrew, the term translated for “integrity” throughout the Proverbs is “tome” or “tamim.” This word literally means “wholeness, completeness, finished, innocence, sound, unimpaired.”
Interestingly, this is the same term the Torah uses to describe the Passover lamb sacrifice in Exodus 12:5. When we are told in the Scriptures to have “integrity” we are actually being called to present ourselves blameless and without blemish, just like a lamb.
During Biblical times, the Passover lamb was one of the most important sacrifices a person could offer. The lamb was to be the best of the best without spot. It was carefully chosen and then meticulously taken home for a few days before it was to be killed. Then the tamim lamb would be sacrificed, roasted, and eaten by the family and neighbors.
Others would see your sacrifice and therefore you wouldn’t want a Passover lamb that had bodily defects or deformed. The lamb had to be right in all ways. We have to be the same if we are to be people of integrity.
Integrity is more than just acting the same way regardless of who is watching. The ancient Hebrew term means to be blameless SO that all can watch.
The Passover sacrifice was a public offering. Proverbs 11:3 states that, “the integrity of the upright shall guide them.” Your lamb-like gentle submission to the Good Shepherd will guide you throughout life.
A person of integrity will completely and explicitly yield to the Lord like a gentle lamb to the slaughter. Jesus, the perfect Passover lamb did this. Biblically that’s the definition of integrity. And that’s something we all need.
