An army private on furlough wanted an extension. Being a resourceful young man and also honest, he wired his coammader. “No death, no emergency, request extension on furlough. I’m having a wonderful time.” When the commander received the wire he was nonplussed. This was something different. Heretofore he had heard alibis of every description asking for extension of furloughs. In this instance no excuses were made. The soldier simply told the truth. He was enjoying the furlough, he was having a good time, and he wanted an extension. After thinking it over the commander wired back, “Rewarded for honesty. Extension of five days on present furlough granted.
Our twentieth-century culture seems to pay little attention to the matter of integrity. Winston Churchill once said, “Men occasionally stumble over the truth and most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened.” Today many do move than stumble. They kick the truth out of the way as something which ought not to be there, something which is an annoying obstacle.
It used to be a compliment to say that a man was square. It meant that he was honest, he was principled, and he was fair. Today a square is one who is not "with it." He is old-fashioned and he is not "hep." Many have added an eleventh commandment which reads, "Thou art permitted to practice dishonesty, fabrication, lies, and cheating if thou wilt avoid being caught."
I am sure that many of us have not yet forgotten the TV scandal of a few years ago. It was a disgrace of no mean proportions. It was the first time that lies were delivered into the homes of millions of people. It should be remembered that these lies were paid for with scheduled regularity.
We were surprised that fascinating, bright, and intelligent people, people we admired, turned out to be dishonest. The last thing that we would look for in teachers would be characters low enough in principle so that they could be "fixed." But the greatest disappointment of all was the reaction of many of the citizenry. Many wrote in saying, "After all, it was only an entertainment. It was just good unclean fun."
Integrity a Barometer
The lack of integrity in our present-day advertising is also quite a barometer of our culture. The false advertising has all kinds of commercialized deceit, and it is constantly coming over the air and appearing on the screen. Someone has said, "Advertising cares nothing for virtue or love. It prefers, if anything, that men do not develop their reason too much and as for classical virtue of the producer, it earnestly hopes these will be forgotten."—Ten Commandments in Modern Perspective, p. 140.
Fraud and deception are practiced in practically every area of business and in all professions. Dishonesty cuts through the whole fabric of society. Sometimes whole families work together, even using their own children to steal merchandise. Recently I read about an insurance agent who created fictitious customers to whom he "sold" burial insurance. He wrote burial policies from $250 up to $500. Usually he would pay the first few installments. Then he would "kill" his fictitious customers and collect the insurance. The company got a bit suspicious because so many people "died," but since the policies were small they let the matter drift along.
Finally, however, they sent an auditor. He discovered there was indeed a high "death rate" among the "customers." The agent had collected more than $200,000 over a period of two years on people who never did exist.
All of this reminds us of the little fellow who said to his teacher that he could not accept the idea that the earth was round. The teacher asked, "Is it flat?" "No," replied the youngster. "My daddy says it is crooked."
In the year 1889 Dr. George Boardman gave ten lectures at the University of Pennsylvania. Speaking on the ninth commandment, he said, "Whatever disaster may befall our beloved America, God spare her the guilt and degradation of untruthfulness, national and personal. The God of our fathers be praised, her honor at least in this regard has hitherto been unstained." —Lectures on Ten Commandments, p. 280. The sad part of it is that "her honor" is no longer unstained. Today we hear and read much about the credibility gap.
Integrity Within the Church
It is to be regretted that this lack of integrity is also beginning to show up more and more in the church. The attitude that the ninth commandment is relative has a way of creeping into our ranks. We claim to have "the truth" but many times we are not truthful. The Achans, the Sapphiras and Ananiases, have always been a weakening force in the church. The less integrity, the less strength, the less influence for good, the less power. The community judges a church quite largely by the honesty of her membership. The reputation of a church will be either good or bad depending to a large degree on the honesty we exercise in our business relationships. Do we pay our just debts? Do we avoid the creditors? I think it would be well for us to read again and again the record of the prophet Samuel. Samuel was old and grayheaded. At this juncture of his life he threw a challenge out to the people he had been leading. He said, "Behold, here I am: witness against me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you." The people replied: "Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man's hand" (1 Sam. 12:3, 4).
We read in Patriarchs and Prophets, page 663: "From his youth up Samuel had walked before Israel in the integrity of his heart; although Saul had been the acknowledged king, Samuel had wielded a more powerful influence than he, because his record was one of faithfulness, obedience, and devotion." Surely this is an enviable record. Samuel did not accept any bribes. He was not willing to have his life of integrity destroyed because of lust for the material things in life.
Danger Zones
We have within the denomination the automobile fleet policy. Special prices are offered to employees if the cars are purchased through the fleet policy. It is a fair and above-board arrangement with the automobile industry. It is sad, however, that again and again certain conference workers take these special prices and then go shopping and chiseling for even better prices. Definite instruction has been given that this should not be done, because it is not fair to the company or the dealers with whom the fleet arrangement is entered into.
However, there are usually a few who disregard this instruction. Because of their lack of integrity and their lust for money they create a bad image for the church. Their miserly spirit and lack of integrity create a very real problem for the great majority of workers who are trustworthy and fair-minded. One would be inclined to believe that those who always want to take advantage belong to the class mentioned in 2 Peter 2:15 (Phillips)*: "They are born under a curse, for they have abandoned the right road and wandered off to follow the old trail of Balaam, son of Beor, the man who had no objection to wickedness as long as he was paid for it. But he, you remember, was sharply reprimanded for his wickedness—by a donkey, of all things, speaking with a human voice to check the prophet's wicked infatuation."
Such lack of integrity is found in spots throughout the ranks of Adventism. Even though we hear much about the relativity of the law, the Bible never has supported the idea that the commandment "Thou shalt not bear false witness" no longer applies. The words of Christ indicate the contrary.
"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:19). "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law" (verse 18).
The messenger of the Lord tells us, "Dishonesty is practiced all through our ranks, and this is the cause of lukewarmness on the part of many who profess to believe the truth. . . . I am pained to make the statement that there is an alarming lack of honesty even among Sabbathkeepers."—Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 310.
Again, "Life's best things—simplicity, honesty, truthfulness, purity, unsullied integrity—cannot be bought or sold; they are as free to the ignorant as to the educated, to the black man as to the white man, to the humble peasant as to the king upon his throne."—Ibid., vol. 7, p. 27.
Dishonesty in the church may take a variety of forms. There are those who practice dishonesty by not paying an honest tithe. Others make vows to the Lord and refuse to pay them. Others seem to have no compunctions of conscience in practicing dishonesty in their business relationships. There are those who get close to the border of dishonesty by their unethical and cheap habits of chiseling. Especially should the clergy be on guard. Others deviate from rectitude when they fill out their income tax reports and deduct items that are not deductible by law. There are those who have a hard time to tell the truth in ordinary conversation.
Political Involvement
It happens, too, that at times leaders of the church exhibit a lack of integrity and become involved in politics. The messenger of the Lord told us, "Some make Christ ashamed of them by their devising and planning and scheming. God does not approve of their conduct, for the Lord Jesus is dishonored by this spirit and their works."—Ibid., vol. 8, p. 235. It may well be that the servant of the Lord here refers to church politicians. Politics can never be sanctioned by the church. Rascality and politics are sometimes practiced behind the scenes in order to put certain people into office or to keep them out. Some may sincerely feel that they are doing the will of God by their maneuvering and their clandestine tactics, but let us always remember that such practices lack uprightness and have no place in the church of God. Procedures of this kind should never be sanctioned. Those who practice this kind of leadership are the termites who eat away at the vital structures of the church.
Smoking or Dishonesty
We become greatly exercised when a member follows the world in adornment and dress. We write reams about those who do not live up to the principles of healthful living. We become concerned about those who use tobacco and are addicted to other health-destroying habits. It is right and proper that the church should be concerned about those who violate these standards. However, in my opinion, those who are dishonest and deceitful bring a far greater reproach upon the church. I am inclined to believe that the Lord can save an honest man addicted to tobacco much more readily than a so-called saint who is addicted to deceit, untruthfulness, and hypocrisy.
We may rejoice in the fact that we "have the truth," but unless we speak the truth, live the truth, obey the truth, we are not really in the truth. We may be in the church but not in the truth. Believing the theory of the truth gives no one priority to march through the gates of pearl into the kingdom.
Someone has said that honesty is the best policy, but honesty must be more than a policy. If we are honest only because it is a good policy, sooner or later we will change the policy to fit our desires to be dishonest. Policy or no policy a Christian is always honest. It is clearly indicated in the New Testament that Jesus considered the hypocrites, the deceitful, and the dishonest people the chief menace to true religion and morality.
It is a good thing for leaders of the church to examine themselves again and again on this matter of living a life of integrity. Lack of integrity in our lives indicates a lack of Christ within. The apostle Paul tells us, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17). "When the people of God experience the new birth, their honesty, their uprightness, their fidelity, their steadfast principles, will unfailingly reveal it."—Counsels to Parents and Teachers, p. 251. When Zacchaeus came into contact with Christ he was changed from a dishonest man to one who practiced honesty. He said, "I will restore fourfold" (Luke 19:8). The wise man said in Proverbs 11:6 (Moffattt), "Upright men are safe, through their goodness, but crafty men are caught by their own schemes."
Again quoting from Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:8. (Phillips), "Our sole defense, our only weapon, is a life of integrity; whether we meet honor or dishonor, praise or blame." The church must always have high standards of integrity. The people of God, especially the leaders, must always be truthful irrespective of the low standards of integrity in the world. The psalmist said, "He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight" (Ps. 101:7).
"If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth" (1 John 1:6). Those who practice dishonesty and deceit may be members of the church but they cannot enter into spiritual fellowship with Christ and His people. If there is one area above another where Christians should reveal their Christianity, it is in the area of integrity. Nothing so destroys the fellowship as members who practice dishonesty. Nothing so shatters the confidence of non-Christians as church members who lack integrity. Then, too, the fellowship suffers almost a fatal blow if the members cannot trust one another.
It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who said, "Nothing is at last sacred except the integrity of your own mind." The servant of the Lord made this observation: "Let it be written upon the conscience as with a pen of iron upon the rock, that real success, whether for this life or for the life to come, can be secured only by faithful adherence to the eternal principles of right."—Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 164. To apply the principles of Christ's righteousness in our lives day by day should be our goal.
Notes:
* The Bible texts in this article credited to Phillips are from The New Testament in Modern English, © J. B. Phillips 1958. Used by permission of The Macmillan Company.
A New Translation by James Moffatt. Copyright James Moffatt 1954. Used by permission of Harper & Row, Publishers, Incorporated.
