Every week our For His Glory videos take up one topic, one verse a day. This is the same verse, so you can read along before you watch. This week: Integrity.
Anchor verse · Proverbs 22:1
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.
Proverbs 22:1 · ESV
Before the week asks anything of you, ask what you're building your name on. A good name isn't a reputation you manage. It's who you are when it costs you.
A good name
Proverbs 22:1Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.
Proverbs 10:9 · ESV
Integrity isn't heavier to carry. The crooked path is the one that keeps you looking over your shoulder.
Walking securely
Proverbs 10:9One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
Luke 16:10 · ESV
The scorecard, the timesheet, the small thing nobody checks. The little things aren't practice for the big ones. They are the real thing.
Faithful in a little
Luke 16:10The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
Proverbs 11:3 · ESV
Integrity is a guide, not a trophy. It decides before the moment comes, so you don't have to negotiate with yourself in it.
Guided by integrity
Proverbs 11:3He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8 · ESV
Three things, and we fall short of all of them. Only Christ did justice, loved kindness and walked humbly perfectly, and He did it for us.
What the Lord requires
Micah 6:8May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.
Psalm 25:21 · ESV
David doesn't brag about his integrity. He prays for it. It isn't something we produce. It's something God keeps.
Preserved while I wait
Psalm 25:21for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13 · ESV
He gives what He requires. We don't pursue integrity to earn what He's already given. We pursue it from Him, for Him, by Him.
God who works in you
Philippians 2:13Integrity
Integrity isn't something you manufacture. It's something God works in you.
for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13 (ESV)
The text. Right before this, Paul tells the church to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. Then he tells them why they can: God is the one working in them, changing both what they want and what they do.
The root. All week we've looked at integrity: a good name, faithfulness in little things, walking humbly. If you're like us, the honest response is, "I can't do that consistently." That's true. And that's the point.
The counterfeit. The counterfeit is willpower. Trying harder. More discipline, more accountability apps, more resolutions. Those things aren't bad, but they can't change a heart. Christ doesn't upgrade our willpower; He replaces the center so our effort is no longer the engine.
Turn to Christ. Integrity is being one whole person in the dark and the light, and only Christ ever was. He gives what He requires. So we pursue integrity from Him, for Him and by Him, never to earn what He has already given.
Make it personal. Where have you been trying to fix yourself on your own? Tell God plainly: "I can't make this happen. Work in me." Then take the next obedient step, trusting He's already at work.
Integrity
Three simple requirements, and none of us keeps them on our own.
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8 (ESV)
The text. Israel was asking what offering would make God happy. Thousands of rams? Rivers of oil? God's answer is simpler and harder: do what's right, love mercy, and walk humbly with Him.
The root. We like religion we can measure. A checklist feels safe because we can finish it. Micah 6:8 isn't a checklist; it's a way of walking. Justice is how you treat people. Kindness is why you treat them that way. Humility is who you are walking with while you do it.
The counterfeit. The counterfeit is performance: doing the visible spiritual things to cover the invisible ones we're neglecting. Going to church while being harsh at home. Posting the verse while ignoring the person in front of you.
Turn to Christ. Only one person ever did justice perfectly, loved kindness completely and walked humbly with God every step. Jesus kept Micah 6:8 for us, and then went to the cross for every time we didn't. Now the requirement becomes an invitation: walk with Him, and He'll make you more like Him.
Make it personal. Which one is hardest for you right now: justice, kindness or humility? Ask God for help with that one specifically today.
Integrity
The scorecard nobody checks is the real test.
One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.
Luke 16:10 (ESV)
The text. Jesus doesn't say small things are practice for big things. He says they are the same thing. How you handle a little shows how you'll handle a lot.
The root. We tend to think integrity shows up in the big moments: the major decision, the obvious temptation. But character is mostly built in moments nobody notices. The extra stroke you don't write down. The hour you round up on the timesheet. The text you'd rather nobody read.
The counterfeit. The counterfeit is "it's not a big deal." That phrase sounds humble, but it's usually a quiet negotiation with ourselves. Small compromises don't stay small; they become the shape of who we are.
Turn to Christ. If you're honest, this verse probably exposes you. It exposes us too. But Jesus was faithful in every little thing, every hidden moment of His life, and He counts that faithfulness to everyone who trusts Him. That doesn't make the little things unimportant. It means we pursue faithfulness from a place of being forgiven, not a place of fear.
Make it personal. Pick one small thing this week that nobody will ever check, and do it all the way right. Not to earn anything. Just because He's watching, and He's for you.
Integrity
A good name isn't a reputation you manage. It's who you are when nobody is checking.
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.
Proverbs 22:1 (ESV)
The text. Solomon had more silver and gold than anyone alive, and he still says a good name is worth more. Not a famous name. A good one. The kind people trust because what they see is what is actually there.
The root. Underneath this verse is a question: what are you building? Most of us are building something, whether it's a career, a following, a handicap or a bank account. Proverbs isn't against any of that. It just ranks it. Character first, everything else after.
The counterfeit. The counterfeit of a good name is a good image. Image is what we curate: the highlight reel, the polished version, the round we post about. A good name is what's true when the phone is down and nobody's keeping score. You can have a great image and a bad name at the same time, and eventually one catches up with the other.
Turn to Christ. Here's the honest part. None of us has a spotless name on our own. We've all cut corners somewhere. The good news is that the best name ever given wasn't earned by us. It was given to us. Jesus took our name, with all its stains, and gave us His. We don't build a good name to be accepted; we're accepted, so now we get to live like it.
Make it personal. This week, notice one place where you're managing an image instead of living honestly. Bring it to God. Then do the small, true thing, even if nobody ever sees it.
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