John Magangi
We all know the popular saying, ‘Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder’. Without a doubt, each of us is beautiful in different, unique and individual ways. It is almost impossible to find one person that is universally acceptable as the standard of beauty, the yardstick against which we all must be measured.
Nowadays there are many beauty pageants with different parameters for defining beauty in various quarters of society. There is Miss Kenya, Miss India Kenya, Miss Tourism and even Miss Exodus that was introduced in 2003 to celebrate those who have made their exodus from street life. The interesting thing about these pageants however is the fact that the winner can only hold the title for a year.
In other words, they can only be the ‘yardstick’ for a year. After that, we have to find another yardstick. Beauty may be in the eyes of the beholder, but it sure is fleeting!
Is there then something that we all can agree doesn’t lose its quality over time? Something whose value in its bearer will not diminish no matter what changes — whether it is the era in which that person lives or the ‘beholders’? I think there is. And it is called integrity.
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Impeccable faithfulness
Different people define integrity in different ways. Most people think about it in relation to one’s ability to remain soundly accountable in their financial dealings. Others think of it in terms of impeccable faithfulness in marriage. While these are manifestations of integrous conduct, they do not define what integrity is.
To understand it, we have to look at the root word for integrity. It is the word ‘integer’. An integer is a numeral that is complete by itself. It is whole in the sense that it is not a fraction like _ or º.
What does integrity in life mean? It simply means living your life with good conduct and your whole heart involved in what you are doing. When we say someone lacked integrity, the implication is that that person was habitually and deliberately misleading those around him in one way or another. He or she gave the impression that all their heart was in what they were involved with when in fact it wasn’t. Indeed only a fraction of it was in it, while the other fraction or fractions were in something else.
We can testify to the fact that we have witnessed and have been affected by the results of a lack of integrity. They can be catastrophic. How can one guarantee oneself a life of integrity? What is the secret to living in such a way as to leave the legacy of an integrous life?
Spirit, soul and body
Well, the first of the Ten Commandments states that we should love the Lord God with all our heart, all our soul and all our strength. In other words, we are to love Him with our being, our whole person: spirit, soul and body.
This is the first and greatest commandment — and it has to do with integrity! God teaches us that we cannot give a fraction of ourselves to Him and the other fractions to something else and expect that all will be well.
What lesson can we learn from this? Integrity begins with your relationship with God. Your spiritual life is at the very core of a life of integrity. It is indeed a virtue, albeit a rare one. When you give God room in your heart, you are well on your way to possessing that precious gem whose value and beauty never fades with time.
