Integrity

...until I die I will not put away my integrity from me.I will hold fast my righteousness, and will not let it go;my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.(Job 27:5-6 NRSV)

Job is in the midst of a struggle. God has given him over to loss, pain, and disease.

His friends are "miserable comforters". He is now made fun of by people he wouldn't trust to watch his dog.

He is wrestling with an unseen, absent God.

His integrity is being questioned: was he really the man everyone saw him to be? Maybe his duplicitous ways caused his trouble.

"No way!" insists Job.

The Wesley Study Bible talks about integrity:

"Long before the discoveries of modern psychology, Job knew that integrity is holding our lives together, in order to be the same person inside and out. Unless we are together there is no source of power to resist the onslaught of dishonesty and corruption constantly coming our way. Losing integrity is somewhat like losing our lungs - essential for life. If our lungs (integrity) collapse, all of life is threatened."

"A long look at Job teaches us integrity is more than honesty and truth-telling, it is knowing and staying true to who we are no matter the costs."

In the midst of the word integrity is the word "grit". Determination. Job displays this quality, maybe more than any other. He is determined to hold onto what he knows about himself and God, even in the midst of doubts and questions that flood him about what he does not know.

May God help us to hold onto our integrity today, in the midst of questions, doubts, and difficulties. May we live a life that is the same on the inside and out, in a way that is pleasing to God and helpful to others.

Grace & peace