Integrity

By Cata S. de Jesus

The GM of a big corporation was informed by his staff that they were under fire because of complaints from some sectors. A TV station wanted a statement from someone in authority. The GM had a few choices. He could send one of his well-heeled underlings to face the cameras and take the flak. He could briefly leave the country and assign his PR guys to take care of the problem. Or, he could do the most difficult, but the RIGHT thing to do — make the statement himself and take the flak. Well, that he did. The GM faced the cameras himself. He told the truth. He took the flak. That’s integrity.

A housewife was buying several big cans of expensive milk. She noticed that the prices on the cans were lower than usual. As the cashier was about to punch in the purchase, the lady told the cashier that there might have been a mistake in the pricing. The cashier checked it and found out that there was, indeed, a mistake — so the right (but higher) amount was punched in. That’s integrity.

A lady, highly paid and highly placed in an international organization, was asked by her colleagues to sign a document which contained fabricated results. She refused to sign. Even if her colleagues and superiors badgered her, ostracized her, badmouthed and threatened her, she still refused to sign. That’s integrity.

Many years ago, my husband was an executive in a real estate company. He was offered a P1-million bribe by a broker who was selling a property to the company. My husband knew that the property had, in fact, already been approved by top management because he himself had recommended its approval – but the broker didn’t know that. It would’ve been easy to accept the bribe because it was already a done deal. But my husband did not accept the bribe. Instead, he scolded and blacklisted the broker who tried to bribe him, and reported the incident to Management. That’s integrity.

A few good men. That’s what we call people with integrity. Men of principle, honor, and courage. All the above stories are true, and all of them are Christians. None of them can take any credit for what they did. Only by God’s grace, and only the power of the Holy Spirit, were these men and women able to hurdle their own individual tests and trials with integrity.

The Bible tells us,

You must be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God, following his instructions in every detail. Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land you are about to enter and occupy (Deut. 5: 32-33).

God is the only One Who sees everything we do. That’s why our integrity is fully tested when nobody else is looking but God. We know He doesn’t have the habit of blowing the whistle on us right on the spot, or zapping us immediately when we do wrong — that’s why we find it easy to compromise, lie, cheat, exploit, and manipulate things to our advantage when we think we can probably get away with it. Maybe the prize money is too high, so we’re willing to compromise. Or we’re too scared to face the consequences of our mistakes — so we lie and hide and twist things to save our skin.

Our integrity is usually put to the test by two things: MONEY and REPUTATION. When any of these are involved, the temptation to compromise escalates — depending on how much we have to gain, or how much we stand to lose.

Let’s do a little Integrity Check, then, on ourselves. These questions are not exhaustive, but they will do for now. Let’s answer these questions honestly:

1. Am I a User? Do I use people and relationships for my personal advantage? Do I constantly MASSAGE THE EGOS my bosses? Do I often FLATTER people who are useful to me, people who can get me what I want? Do I use GIFTS to ingratiate myself to, or get the support of others? Do I ignore and drop people like hot potatoes when they’re no longer “useful” to me?
2. When my superior tells me to do something that I know is wrong, unsavory, or devious, do I have the courage to respectfully say NO? Or do I just go ahead and do it because it might cost me my job, my boss’s approval, or job perks? Am I a “Yes Man”? Am I a boot-licker? Am I a sycophant? (In Tagalog, am I sipsip?)
3. Do I accept gifts, freebies, privileges, etc. from suppliers/contractors who give these things to me because of my position? (Either do not accept the freebies, raffle them off to your staff, or ask your boss if you can accept the gifts/freebies. That’s integrity. Never use your position to curry favor or get gifts.)
4. As a boss, do I have a “fall guy” who takes the flak for me, who takes the blame for my mistakes, who does things that I won’t risk doing myself? Do I use my subordinate to be the “bad guy” so that I can always be the “good guy”? Do I resent or demote subordinates who do not always agree with me or who have the courage to stand up to me?
5. Do I play politics to may advantage, and to the detriment of others? Do I have quid-pro-quo relationships: “I’ll scratch your back, you scratch mine. I’ll do you a favor, but you owe me one.” Do I cover up for my friends even if it’s something that I should have reported?
6. Do I take personal/command responsibility for my mistakes or my subordinate’s mistakes – even BEFORE I am caught or confronted? Or do I own up only AFTER my sin/mistake is exposed? (This is means not only a lack of integrity but also cowardice.)
7. Do I speak up when I see someone being treated unjustly? Or when I detect a dishonest/unfair policy? Or do I just shut up because it might cost me my job or jeopardize my position? Do I just look after my own interests – not willing to recommend something that will benefit others but not myself?
8. Do I make bad reports or say negative things to my superior or to others when I am envious of, or angry at someone? Do I become critical when I am threatened/intimidated by someone more accomplished or more popular than me?
9. Do I lie to clients just to get a sale — concealing negative information, selling them what they don’t need, or exaggerating the positive? Do I lie or over-sell myself, just to get the job/position I want? When making a report or presentation, do I slant the truth just to impress people or get what I want?
10. Do I negotiate to the point of taking advantage of another person, using loopholes and technicalities just to gain the upper hand, abusing his trust, or using his ignorance/inexperience to my advantage?
11. Do I engage someone’s services without first making clear what I intend to pay him so that, after the job is done, I can just pay him what I want? Do I burden my subordinates with a lot of additional work that’s not in their job description? In short, do I exploit my staff?
12. Do I take home office supplies or use company time and equipments for personal use? (If I do, do I pay for the extra expense myself?)
13. Do I brag and take credit for something that I did not do myself? Do I give credit where credit is due? Do I cite the achievements of my team and predecessor/s when making an Accomplishment Report – or do I fail to mention them, presenting the accomplishments as my own?
14. Do I refuse to take part in anything that involves cheating, lying, unfair practices, illegal activities, or selling harmful, useless or overpriced products? Do I declare my income honestly? Do I pay my taxes honestly?
15. Do I pay my debts and bills on time? Do I have debts or bills that I’m not paying regularly? Have I discussed a realistic payment scheme with my creditors?
16. Do I use “negotiations” to earn as much money as I can, or to get what I want — without thinking of the welfare of the other parties involved?
17. Do I use my position/power to CONTROL PEOPLE instead of lead them? Do I use my authority to bestow favor on people I like, and to make life hard for those I don’t like? Do I nurse grudges and let it affect the fairness and objectivity of my decisions?
18. Do I tell the truth even if it will put me in a bad light – and even if no one will find out? When I give good reports about my project, do I also report my failures/mistakes? Or do I just cover up by not talking about my mistakes at all? Do I exaggerate things or pad my numbers to look impressive?
19. Do I give people what is due them, when it is due them? Or do I try to pay people as little as I can, and delay payment for as long as I can?
20. On the matter of Intellectual Piracy — if I give a talk or write something, do I cite the source of my outline/content (if I’m using someone else’s materials)? Do I cite the authors/sources of the quotations, ideas, concepts which I borrowed? Or do I pass it off as my own? (Some people in the audience know – and we will lose credibility with them.)
21. When I am in a mutually exclusive relationship – do I cheat on my boyfriend/girlfriend by flirting with or secretly seeing others? Do I cheat on my spouse – even just by getting emotionally involved with someone else? Take note: an unfaithful spouse or dating partner has no integrity in many other areas of his/her life.
22. When I am confronted with an apparent mistake that I made, do I excuse myself by saying that it was just a “miscommunication,” an “oversight,” or “I was just following orders”?
23. Am I consistent and transparent in what I say and do? Or am I more of a chameleon? Am I two-faced (in Tagalog, balimbing)? Do I conveniently change my opinion/story to blend in, to avoid scrutiny, to avoid being caught, or to protect my own interests?
24. Are you honest with money? Are you honest in your relationships? Do you do things behind people’s backs?

Integrity is a MUST for every Christian. It’s non-negotiable. It reveals our true character. It reveals our own humility of mind and generosity of spirit:

Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others (Philippians 2: 3-4).

The world is full of temptations. And let’s face it. We are easily tempted because we are so full of ourselves – our lust for power and recognition, our selfish cravings, our personal ambitions. That’s why developing integrity is always an arduous, uphill climb. It takes tons of resolve, determination, sacrifice. When we slip now and then, we should quickly get up and resume our uphill climb.

No one has perfect integrity. But as Christians, we must try to use integrity as a plumb line for everything else in our lives.

We must constantly strive to develop integrity before God. Integrity in our own family. Integrity before men. Integrity when we face ourselves. If someone questions your integrity, drop everything and listen!

–
Catherine de Jesus is a writer, lecturer, and a Christian counselor on Marriage, Life Issues, and Work Ethics. She is married to one of CCF’s Elders, Pastor Ito de Jesus, and they have four children. Cata serves with the CCF Women-to-Women Ministry and the Elders’ Wives Group. Prior to her involvement in CCF, she headed Corporate Communications and Media Relations departments in local/international organizations. She immensely enjoys reading, writing, and traveling. She has been working on a book of essays that will be published this year.