When Your Yes Means Yes: Living a Life of Christian Integrity

I am currently participating in a study of the book of James and I love it. James is one of my favorite books of the Bible. There is just so much in it. As I was reading though it again one big thing I felt the Lord pointing out was in James 5:12:

"Above all we must be those who never need to verify our speech as truthful by swearing by the heavens or the earth or any other oath. But instead we must be so full of integrity that our “Yes” or “No” is convincing enough and we do not stumble into hypocrisy." James 5:12 TPT

This passage got me thinking… when we “swear” by something or “pinky promise” or whatever endearment we choose it is not typically because we are unsure of our duties, but rather to assure the one we are in conversation with. It is a typically a lack of trust in us that causes that to be the case.

How do we overcome someone else’s lack of trust? Is that even possible? And is it even our responsibility?

…we must be so full of integrity that our yes or no is convincing enough…

Since accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior have our lives changed? Do we speak the same? Look the same? Act the same?

Maybe growing up and into adulthood you did everything right. You never talked back to your parents, or did anything wrong. You always honored your father and mother. Maybe you never speak ill of a rough-around-the-edges coworker or family member. Maybe you follow ALL of the rules of law to a T (I’m talking to you speed racers LOL). Maybe you have never coveted something you saw and did not have.

I could go on, but the reality is that no matter how good or bad we were pre-Jesus we still were not and could not be enough on our own. Our lives should look different than our pre-Jesus stage. Whether we start off in a place of great character or ill repute we should be constantly striving to be a better and better reflection of Jesus.

Integrity is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as: firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values: incorruptibility.

Integrity is not just a strong belief system and moral principles. It goes so much deeper than that. Integrity is adhering to those beliefs and values when no one is watching. It is practicing what we preach. It is the foundation of our words and actions. It is what we are doing and saying and believing when nobody is watching.

Integrity is not something that we can simply say we have and then poof we have it. It is lived out, it is challenged, it is refined if we hold fast to our beliefs.

Our character matters not only to people also to God. What we do, what we say not only when we are around people, but even more so when it is just us and him. What happens behind closed doors so to speak. And when we are actively living a life or working towards a life of integrity and character it changes the way we respond, the things we say, the things we do. It is not changed, corrected or grown in an instant, but rather a compilation of integrity-filled choices. Our integrity and character are not proved by words alone instead by a history of action.

I don’t know about you, but I want to be someone whose character and integrity speak for itself. Not to show that I am “better” or “kinder” or “smarter”, rather to show that Jesus is. I am to be His reflection, His ambassador. That means that pre-Jesus me as I knew it needs to be renewed and transformed by the Holy Spirit and active dedication on my part.

As it says in the scripture, integrity is not something we simply stumble into, it says quite the opposite in fact. Christian integrity takes intentionality. It takes knowing what we value most and it takes boldness and courage.

Let that be us. Let that be now.

Love ya,