Integrity - 2009-10-04

“Integrity” October 04, 2009 Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12

Job 1:1, 2:1-10

Have you been watching the news lately? I think that there must be something in the water in the governor’s mansions across the country. Maybe it’s just politics or the sort of people we attract to run for public office, but it occurred to me that Ohio might be the latest victim. In 2004, Jim McGreevey, then Governor of New Jersey, resigned after he revealed that he was having an extramarital affair with another man. Throughout 2008, Nevada governor Jim Gibbons battled charges of extramarital affairs, sexual assault, corruption, bribery and favoritism. On March 10, 2008, The New York Times reported that Elliot Spitzer, the Governor of New York, had paid for the services of a high priced call girl with public funds. On December 9, 2008 the Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich was arrested by federal authorities on a variety of charges but essentially he was using his office to sell power and position to people who would return the favor in cash or other favors. On June 24, 2009, Mark Sanford, the governor of South Carolina, revealed that he had been having an extramarital affair with a woman in Argentina. What are we up to so far ten percent? This week, I was having a discussion with a friend, and we were wondering how our Governor here in Ohio could possibly support things that he campaigned against and by all rights ought to be opposed to now. Our Governor signed an executive order to bring slot machines into Ohio’s horserace tracks (which is now tied up in court because he violated Ohio’s constitution to do so) and although he has said he is opposed to the November ballot issue that would bring casino gambling into Ohio, for the most part he seems to be conspicuously absent from the discussion. I don’t want to get into a sermon about gambling this morning (although I’m sure I’d find plenty to say) but with all these high-profile cases of respected and seemingly reputable leaders doing all sorts of things that no one expected them to do, we are left to wonder what happened to integrity? Closer to home, we wonder if perhaps there is something in the water. Although most of us don’t have the temptations that come with political power, do we as individuals run the risk of falling into the same traps? How do we become people of integrity and for that matter, what is integrity? From Dictionary.com we find the following definition:

In-teg-ri-ty – noun 1. 2. 3.

adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished: to preserve the integrity of the empire. a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition: the integrity of a ship's hull.

Not too surprisingly, the Bible also has a few things to say about integrity. In the book of Job, we meet a man who God loves and who maintains his integrity even when his entire life falls apart in front of his eyes. (Job 1:1) 1

In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2:1-10 1

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On another day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." 3

Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? 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." 4

"Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. 5 But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face." 6

The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."

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So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. 9

His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!"

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He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

Job’s devotion to God and his dedication to what is right is so noticeable, that God uses him as an example to Satan himself. Satan, having had a great deal of firsthand experience with human beings, firmly believes, that Job will surrender the things that he say he values, in order to save his own life. Satan believes that if Job’s life is threatened, he will abandon his beliefs and curse God but when God allows that very thing to happen, Job remains steadfast in trusting God. As I read through this passage of scripture this week, I saw something in this exchange that I had never really noticed before. In verse 3, God points Job out to Satan and declares that he had still maintained his integrity despite the fact that Satan had already taken away all of Job’s flocks and herds and servants and even killed his children. In verse 9 Job’s wife, who is obviously not taking the bad news as well as Job, asks him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" In all the times I had read this before, I don’t recall noticing that both God and Job’s wife have deliberately pointed to his integrity. Despite the loss of his wealth and all of his children and even after the loss of his own health, Job maintains his integrity. He continues to adhere to the moral and ethical principles and maintains his moral character. Job replies to his wife by asking, Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" Our lesson from scripture is that God doesn’t always make everything go well for us but through good and bad alike, we trust that God is still in control. God honored Job because he had integrity. Job feared God and shunned evil. Job wasn’t perfect or without sin the way that Jesus was, but Job consistently lived his life by holding on to, and by demonstrating, the things that he believed. In Psalm 26, King David asks God to vindicate him and redeem him despite also declaring that he has led a blameless life. We know that David was not without sin, and so the claim to blamelessness is obviously separate from any moral failures that resulted in sin. A person with integrity may occasionally fall into sin, but does not lose sight of God or let go of their faith. David says that because he stands with God, his feet stand on level ground. In Psalm 25, David declares his trust in God and prays, “21 May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you.” 2

God had spoken to his people since the days of Adam. For millennia, God had spoken his word through human intermediaries. But in Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, we are told that God was no longer satisfied to do things the way that they had always been done and had kicked things up a notch. (Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:512) 1

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. 2:5-12 5 It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6But there is a place where someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 7 You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor 8 and put everything under his feet." In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. 9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10

In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises." In the past, God spoke through the prophets, but now he has spoken through his son, the creator of all that is, the image of God, the one who maintains and sustains every living thing and every natural process on earth. The one who speaks is not simply a representative of humanity, but the living God, greater than any created being including God’s own angels. Humans are created to be lower than the angels but from among humanity, Christ has been lifted up and has been given control of all that is, though at the moment it may not seem that way. Paul declares that God did not bring only one son to glory. By allowing Jesus Christ to be purified, suffer, die and rise again, God brought the gift of salvation and holiness to all who would accept it. More importantly, by his doing so, we have become a part of the same family as Jesus. This is great stuff, but it seems as if it’s a long way from what we were talking about in Job. How does our adoption as brothers and sisters of Jesus connect us with our understanding of integrity? Simple. Have you ever heard phrases like this? “Blood is thicker than water.” “Family matters.” “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” “Family honor.” “Maintain the family name.” “They have disgraced the family.” Why do we all cheer when our children win a ball game? For that matter, why do we cheer when one of our nation’s athletes wins a gold medal in the Olympics? We understand the world through 3

our relationships. If one of our family members does good, we all do good. If our kids win, we win. If an American athlete wins a gold medal, they didn’t just win for themselves, they won as a representative of the United States of America. If we are adopted as members of the family of Jesus Christ, then what we do and what we say reflects not only on us, but also on the reputation of Jesus and the entire family. What we do and what we say, we do and say as representatives of the family of Jesus Christ. So if Job lived a life of integrity, and we, as brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, as those who bear the name of Jesus, Christian, from the Latin, Christiani, literally, “soldiers of Christ” or, “of the household of Christ,” then what would a life of integrity look like? To live a life of integrity in the household of Jesus Christ we must live our daily lives in such a way that our walk matches our talk and our actions match the kinds of actions that would be expected by the one whose name we carry. As I was growing up I would occasionally hear the phrase, “We don’t behave that way because Partridge’s don’t do that” or, “Partridge’s don’t use language like that.” I’ve said similar things to my children and the same applies to us as members of the family of Christ. If one would not expect to find Jesus doing certain things or using certain language, then as members of his family we should likely not do those things either. On the other hand, if there are places that we would expect to find Jesus or things that we would expect to find Jesus doing, then those are the places we should be and those are the things we should be doing. We are not living a life of integrity if we call ourselves Christian and use language that Jesus wouldn’t use. We are not living a life of integrity if we do harm to others or if we fail to help those in genuine need. I suspect that we fall short if we call ourselves Christian but only visit his house once or twice a month. It isn’t difficult to point fingers at the moral and ethical failures of our nation’s state governors and say that their integrity left something to be desired. But before we get too buy pointing fingers at Ted Strickland or anybody else, most of us probably have some serious soul searching self-evaluation to do. If we are to live lives of integrity, then our lives should, every day, reflect the values and actions of the one whose name we carry. Like Job demonstrated, living a life of integrity means reflecting these values and actions. Through good and bad alike, we trust, and we live as if, God is still in control.

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You have been reading a message presented at Johnsville Grace and Steam Corners United Methodist Churches on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor of the Johnsville Parish. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Johnsville Grace UMC or Steam Corners UMC at P.O. Box 205, Shauck, Ohio 43349. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at [email protected]. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.