Living as One: A Devotion on Integrity
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." - Matthew 5:16 (KJV)
As I would stand to preach each Sunday, I was keenly aware that my life is not my own. In our small town, where everyone knows everyone else's business, there is little room for pretense. The grocery clerk who witnessed my patience during a long line sits in the third pew. The neighbor I helped with a ride to the store is there as well. The widow that I bring cookies to monthly is worshiping with us.
This fishbowl existence isn't a burden but a blessing. When I consider the word "integrity," I'm reminded that it springs from "integer"—meaning whole, complete, undivided. One. There is profound peace in being the same person in all circumstances, before all people.
Contrast this with duplicity, which derives from "duplex"—double, two-faced. How exhausting it must be to keep multiple versions of oneself straight! Which mask for which audience? What stories have I told to whom? The mental accounting alone would drain one's spirit.
I've seen both paths walked in my years of ministry. Those who compartmentalize their faith—Sunday saints but Monday scoundrels—carry a heavy load. Their shoulders sag under the weight of maintaining appearances, of remembering which version of themselves they've presented in each relationship.
But those who walk in integrity stand straight. There's freedom in transparency. When my actions in private align with my public proclamations, I need not fear exposure. The light shines through clear glass with no obstruction.
In our small community, this wholeness of character speaks louder than any sermon I could preach. My family and I live with the awareness that our choices are witnessed, our responses observed, our priorities evident in how we spend our time and resources. This awareness isn't constraining but clarifying—helping us continually align our lives with our professed beliefs.
The Psalmist prayed, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24). This is the prayer of one seeking integrity—inviting divine inspection of both public action and private thought, knowing that congruence between the two brings peace.
Each morning, I ask myself: Will today's choices reflect the whole of who I am called to be? Will my unseen actions align with my public testimony? Will those who observe my life see consistency or contradiction?
In this small-town fishbowl, I'm grateful for the accountability. The watchful eyes around me aren't threats but reminders—each person reflecting back to me whether I am living as one unified self or fractured into competing versions.
True integrity isn't perfection but wholeness—the courage to be the same person in all contexts, to let your yes be yes and your no be no, as our Lord instructed. It's allowing the light within to shine consistently, not flickering with the changing winds of circumstance or company.
That, I believe, is the kind of life that truly glorifies our Father in heaven.
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