Why Keep Your Integrity?

 
“Judge me, O Jehovah, . . . according to my integrity.”—PS. 7:8.
 
PICTURE three scenarios: A boy is facing some of his schoolmates. They are trying to provoke him into losing his temper, perhaps to curse or to fight. Will he retaliate, or will he restrain himself and walk away? A husband at home alone is doing some research on the Internet. A box appears on his computer screen, advertising a lewd Web site. Will he be tempted and go to that site, or will he make sure that he avoids it? A Christian woman is conversing with a small group when the talk turns negative, becoming hurtful gossip about a sister in the congregation. Will she share in that, or will she try to change the subject?
 
 Varied though those situations are, they have something in common. They all involve the struggle to keep integrity as a Christian. Do you have your own integrity in mind as you face your concerns, needs, and goals in life? On a day-to-day basis, people think about their appearance, their health, the challenges of making a living, the ups and downs of their friendships, perhaps even romance. We may give such concerns considerable attention. What, though, particularly matters to Jehovah as he searches through our heart? (Ps. 139:23, 24) It is our integrity.
 
 Jehovah, the Giver of “every good gift and every perfect present,” has bestowed on each of us a variety of gifts. (Jas. 1:17) Thanks to him, we have such gifts as a body, a mind, a measure of health, and various abilities. (1 Cor. 4:7) However, Jehovah does not simply force us to display integrity. He lets us choose for ourselves whether we will develop this quality. (Deut. 30:19) We need, then, to examine what integrity is.