Presented by Julie Busteed

I’m looking at some strategies to help grow and build relationships—principles that apply at work, home, church—with everyone. The first two strategies I looked at were loving others and communication skills. I think integrity is also an important component in healthy relationships.

Integrity really covers several qualities. It’s being honest, having strong moral principles, and being trustworthy and reliable.

A great example of integrity in the Old Testament is Daniel. He was taken into captivity from Israel to Babylon, and he became an adviser to the Babylonian kings because of his integrity and trust in God.

For many, it’s a familiar story but to recap: Daniel refuses to bow down and worship a man-made idol. He worships and prays to God. As a result, he is thrown into a literal lion’s den. The next morning, he testifies that my God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight (Daniel 6:22a). Not only did God protect and preserve Daniel, but King Darius also decrees everyone in his kingdom must fear and revere the God of Daniel.

Daniel’s integrity and courage not only effected his own life, but the entire kingdom was now to fear God. He trusted and honored God in his actions, and his integrity was evident to his employer, resulting in a testimony to the entire kingdom.

Integrity can also be something significant done privately, not for public recognition. A friend of mine recently showed a great example of integrity. She just published a book through a traditional publisher. Normally, when you work with a publisher, you receive an advance against future royalties—meaning you don’t earn additional royalties until the book’s sales cover that advance. And if the book doesn’t sell enough to cover it, the author doesn’t have to pay it back.

That’s completely normal. But my friend told me she wants to make sure her book’s sales do reach that advance amount. She’s putting in extra effort to promote and market her book because she doesn’t want to be a burden to the publisher. She isn’t required to do this—it’s not part of her contract—but she feels it’s the right thing to do. Quiet integrity.

In both of these examples, integrity was a vital characteristic in dealing with others. Integrity directed how they should act in certain situations—be it life or death—or something that’s not really seen by others. With faith in God and belief he is faithful, they lived out their lives in honor to him.

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out (Proverbs 10:9).

When we live our lives with integrity, we can walk securely—quietly resting upon God’s favor and gracious providence.