3 Steps to Being a KINGDOM BUILDER in Your Life Today - Part 1Sýnishorn

In this set of readings, we are following the word “NICER” as the first guideword to help us live as Christians in our daily lives at home, around town, and at work.

Last time, we discovered that the letter “N” stood for “No compromises” and saw how Daniel applied that in his life when faced with policies that violated his beliefs.

Today, we look at the letter “I,” which stands for “Integrity.”

The quintessential example of integrity in the Bible is Joseph of the Old Testament. As a handsome young slave in charge of his master Potiphar’s affairs, the master’s wife found him attractive and came after him repeatedly. But Joseph remained steadfast:

And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. – Genesis 39:10

As a young man in his twenties, Joseph exhibited great restraint and decorum in serving his master. He led a life of integrity – meaning that he did the right thing, even when nobody (including his master, in this case) was looking.

A life of integrity significantly strengthens your witness. It means that people can trust you and that you have nothing to fear when they look for dirt or wrongdoing. That was also the case for Daniel…

Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. – Daniel 6:3

Although Daniel’s mom might have been proud, others in the Babylonian enterprise weren’t exactly happy to have a foreigner promoted over them. Try as they might, Daniel’s opponents could find no wrongdoing, dirt, or fake news to take to the king to stop Daniel’s promotion.

Yes, integrity means doing the right thing even when nobody is looking. However, integrity also means doing the right thing, even when others may pressure you to do otherwise.

Just like Joseph & Daniel.

In your life, integrity means doing as you promise, keeping appointments on time, and building a reputation everyone knows they can trust. It also means doing good on the small things that nobody might ever notice – for example, not taking home batteries or even a pen from the workplace supply room, not cutting corners on your commitments, and not fudging even just a wee bit on your taxes, even if everyone else does.

Integrity means living life as if Jesus himself was with you, right there every step of the way.

A common joke in society is that no good deed goes unpunished – and although Joseph could attest to that, he would not have had it any other way. He continued his life of integrity – without complaining – even after he was wrongly accused and thrown into prison!

You may face similar situations where your good deeds end up with bad results. But, as we see in the New Testament book of James, you should count it pure joy when others ridicule you for minding even the little things in your life of integrity.

And, just like Joseph & Daniel, your life of integrity will lead you to exactly where God wants you to be for the glory of His Kingdom.