AN INTEGRITY FILLED HEART

Job 2:9

When talking about the qualities that are necessary for a Christian heart, integrity is one quality that
cannot be ignored. The reason is because thats the type of heart God desires and uses.
Of King David it says, And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.
(Psalm 78:72 NIV)
It was with such an integrious heart that God commended David saying that He was a man after His
own heart, Acts 13:22.
If David had a heart after Gods heart, and if Davids heart was integrious, therefore it can be
concluded that integrity is an integral part of Gods own heart, in other words, integrity is one of Gods qualities.
This is seen in something Moses said about Gods character.
God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He
not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19 NKJV)
And so a Christians heart needs to be an integrious heart because an integrious heart, a heart filled
with integrity is part of Gods own heart.
I think its safe to say that integrity is needed just as much today as its ever been. Not only are we a
society drowning in lies, but we are living in a world that is living more by the lie than by the truth, and the sad
part is that most people dont even think its a big deal.

So what is integrity? Integrity is about being honest, fair, and a strong sense of what is right and what is
wrong. Its adhering to moral and ethical principles, and goes directly to a persons character, that is, who they
truly are. Integrity is not so much about what we do as it is about who we are. It means we live according to
what we say and believe in. Integrity is about who we are on the inside more than what we portray to others.
Its doing right when no one else is looking, and who we are in the dark more than what we do in the light.

Integrity of heart, therefore, is something that God is searching for in His people.
King David said that its only with an integrious (with integrity) heart that we can dwell in Gods presence. So if
you want to be righteous in the eyes of God, you need to have integrity.
Job was such a man with a heart filled with integrity. Listen to what Job said.
As long as my breath is in me my lips will not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit Till I die I will
not put away my integrity from me. My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not
reproach me as long as I live. (Job 27:3-6 NKJV)
In fact, not only is God pleased with such an integrious heart, but He also brags on it. When Satan came
before Gods throne the Lord said, Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the
earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? (Job 1:8 NKJV)
And so God looks for integrity and its an integrious heart that He desires for His leaders to have.
Here are other things that we can learn about integrity.
I. IT CAN BE DEMONSTRATED
You know, when a person lacks integrity, you and I will soon know it. And when a person has integrity, it
then it is demonstrated as well. Job 2:3, Have you considered Job my servant? There is no one on earth like
him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity,
though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason."
God asked Satan if he had considered the integrity of Job. But how could Satan know of Jobs integrity
of Job unless it is demonstrated in Jobs life? God could know because He is omniscient. But Satan could only
know through observation. So Jobs integrity was a demonstrated integrity. It is a proven one.
And this is always the case. If someone is deceptive, its sometimes possible to hide that character. But if
you have integrity, its going to shine through; it will be demonstrated.
How demonstrable is our integrity today? Do our co-workers see our integrity? Do people around us see
our integrity?

II. IT CAN BE DESTROYED.

Integrity is a fragile thing. It doesnt take much to destroy integrity, does it? But is it really possible to
destroy integrity?
Consider this. The wife of Job made this biting comment, Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse
God and die! Jobs wife wonders if after all that theyve gone through, if losing sons and daughters, if losing
servants and sheep, she wonders if her husband can still maintain his integrity. That would somehow indicate
that integrity can be destroyed.
In 27:5, a hint about the destruction of integrity when responding to Bildad. He says, God forbid that I
should justify you; till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.
Job was aware that his integrity can be taken away from him. His actions would either demonstrate his
integrity or they would destroy him.
It goes the same with us. Our actions and mind do exactly the same thing. By the way we live, we either
demonstrate our integrity or we destroy it.

III. INTEGRITY IS A MATTER OF DETERMINATION

Its largely matter of our will. If you want to remain morally pure, if you want to have a pure conscience,
if you want clean hands and pure hearts thats largely up to you. Through it all Job was determined to hang on
to his integrity.
In a single day, destruction hit this man and ruined his life. And still the determination of integrity shines through
in the words that conclude chapter 1. In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
And when Jobs wife counseled him simple to get over with it, to curse God and die, Job showed the
great determination he had when he said, What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we no
receive evil?
Have you ever wondered what happened to Job? Why is it possible that this man kept his integrity all
the way to the end?
 Its possible because he decided he was going to do it. He decided there wasnt anything that could
happen to him, nothing in his life would cause him to curse God and therefore die. The determination to
maintain our integrity seems most logically break down when we dont control our speech. Thats why its
important that this verse says, In all these things Job did not sin with his lips.

The character of Job reveals to us the importance of integrity.in a world full of lies, you and I have to
walk in integrity. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus today, its so vital that you possess the kind of character
that Job did. Its the best way to win a world to Christ. Live today in integrity.