Integrity - Is it Possible?

Samuel DiPiazza, CEO of a major public accounting firm, co-authored a book on building trust in the business world. The book proposes a spirit of transparency, a culture of accountability, and a people of integrity. But in an interview in Singapore, he noted there is one thing the book cannot teach integrity. "Either you have it or you don't," he said.

Is he right? In our world of shifting standards, can integrity be acquired by those who don't have it? The answer is found in our unchanging standard—God's Word, the Bible.

David the psalmist did not head a multinational corporation. But he did rule over a kingdom, and he was serious about doing what was right. He recognized how easy it is to slide down the slippery path of unethical behavior simply because it seems advantageous.

So David asked God, "Teach me Your statutes" (Ps. 119:124). "Give me understanding," he said, "that I may know Your testimonies" (v.125). David hated "every false way," and based his life on the principle that "all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right" (v.128). No one is born with godly character. But by studying God's Word and listening to His Holy Spirit, we can learn to hate falsehood and love integrity. — C. P. Hia

The measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out.