A good name is better than precious ointment,
and the day of death than the day of birth. (Ecclesiastes 7:1 ESV)
[I dusted off a sermon I delivered 8 years ago...]
The verse I chose to be the fulcrum point of this morning’s
sermon is Ecclesiastes 7:1: “A good name
is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of
birth.” (NIV) I’d like you to contemplate this
as I move through my message; we’ll revisit it at the end.
I have decided that, as sin and our often feeble attempts to measure up
to the Christian name we carry goes, that the single most identifiable gauge of
how we are doing in this world, not only in the eyes of God, but in the eyes of
everyone else around us, has to be integrity.
Our integrity—or lack thereof—is what immediately marks us in every
aspect of our lives, in our homes, on the job, or in the classroom, from
cheating on taxes to marital infidelity, whether we’re a good sport on the
field or a forgiving driver during rush hour.
For the Christian, integrity is that cross Jesus is talking about in all
three synoptic Gospels when he tells us to “take up your cross and follow
Me.” For others, integrity is nothing
more than a nuisance that gets in the way of the finer things in life. And for many, integrity is one of those words
that comes up every so often but really needs a definition (or at least some
clarification).
As most of you know, in my other life I am a high school teacher. While going over vocabulary words in an
English class, I asked my students if any of them knew the meaning of
integrity. A hand went up immediately
and the young lady answered “That sign over your door?” Above the door in my classroom is a sign
visible only on the way out that depicts a big eye and reads “How do you live
your life when no one is watching?” Generally speaking, that question may be the simplest definition of
integrity. But what about Christian
integrity then…if we are truly who we profess to be as followers of Christ,
then the when in that question has to come out, because there is never a
time when we’re not being watched.
So. What, exactly, is integrity? More specifically, how would you
define Christian integrity?
An exaggerated, but relevant illustration of Christian integrity can be
found in the lifestyles of those first “reformers” who disagreed with the
Anglican Church and migrated to the New World in the 17th
century. These Puritans—people whose
spiritual convictions transcended the confessional boundaries of the established
church at the time—honored God above all else and believed that the best
Christians should be the best husbands, wives, parents, children, masters, and
servants, so that the doctrine of God might be glorified and not blasphemed. By comparison to our modern-day
I’m-okay-you’re-okay regard to the world around us, Puritans had an austere
spiritual and moral ethic which pervaded every corner of their personal
lives. Such passionate holy living was
not intended to earn salvation but to express sonship, the believer's
destiny in Christ. In other words, there
was no difference between personal integrity and Christian integrity among
Puritans. Moral and ethical violations
blackened not only the transgressor’s family name, but the Body of Christ, as
well; among Puritans a man’s word was as good as gold.
In the 1996 film The
Crucible, Daniel Day Lewis plays the role of John Proctor, a husband,
father, and well-respected member of the Puritan community of Salem,
Massachusetts, who is falsely accused of witchcraft and who is presented with
two options: confess and live with the consequences of having been in league
with the devil, such as being ostracized by others in the community or even
excommunication, or face execution by hanging. The former carries a stigma that would associate Proctor’s name with
witchcraft through future generations; the latter is that cross Jesus is
talking about. Proctor decides to
confess for the sake of being with his wife and family; however, his accusers
wish him to sign a confession to be nailed to the doors of the church... Thus the crucible (a severe test or trial) here; a man of Christian
integrity must either lie to save others and lose his good
name or speak the truth and save it, but at the same time face death.
So here we are in the 21st century where looking out for
number one is not only acceptable, but expected! Children are raised in a society that
promotes cutting corners to get ahead and dollar signs as the true measure of
success. While it’s not likely that a
Christian in America will get caught in John Proctor’s crucible, there are
Christians around the world who face persecution daily for their
convictions. For them, Christian
integrity may very well be a question of life or death. For us…well, for some of us, Christian integrity
is a “Jesus fish” on the car, a “WWJD” bracelet on the wrist, a weekly
appearance at a worship service, or $5 or $10 in the offering plate. I don’t think this is what Jesus means when
He tells us to “take up your cross and follow Me.”
Robert Thieme, a non-denominational pastor in Houston wrote: “Christian integrity
is the strength of the advancing believer. Integrity means wholeness of
character, consistency of word and deed, uncompromising adherence to a code of
values. Christian integrity comes from living by the Word of God.” He is absolutely right! The Word of God contains all that we need to
set our moral compasses to point to Christ so that we may be able take up our
crosses as “advancing believers” and follow Him.
Brothers and sisters, God doesn’t expect us to be perfect,
for if we were or if we could be, then we wouldn’t need Christ. God does expect us to have integrity, though;
to follow His guidelines for living a Christ-like, and therefore God-pleasing,
life in world that needs to more examples of good than bad. In our Gospel reading this morning from
Matthew, Jesus explains what Christian integrity means: “Again, you have heard
that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the
oaths you have made to the Lord.' But I
tell you, do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by
the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the
Great King. And do not swear by
your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your
'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
Christian integrity is keeping your word, your good name, as
a living testimony to God’s Word and His Good Name. When you don’t do what you say you’re going
to do, when you don’t attempt to right a wrong, when you don’t speak the truth,
when you don’t stand up for what is just, when you don’t come to the aid of
others in need or less fortunate than you, when you say you are a Christian and
then act in a contrary manner, you blacken not only your own name, but the name
of Christ as well. Christian Integrity
101 begins with the Ten Commandments, in particular the First; the Puritans
believed that true devotion to Christ involves obedience to the moral law of
God. Honestly? The formula hasn’t changed in 300 years (or
even 2000, for that matter).
So go ahead and let your integrity define you—it’s going to anyway as a
banner of how you live your life. Being
a Christian may not always be easy, but remember that the true fruits of God’s
gift of Grace are in the sacrifice, the service to others rather than to
ourselves, and that God’s expectations for us walk hand-in-hand with
forgiveness. After all, there was only
one perfect “Christian.” His model of
integrity that we strive to follow has been captured in the following poem by
that most famous of authors, Anonymous...
Definition of a Christian
He has a mind, and he knows it,
He has a will, and shows it;
He sees his way, and goes it,
He draws a line, and toes it.
He has a chance, and takes it,
A friendly hand and shakes it;
A rule, and never breaks it,
If there's no time, he makes it.
He loves the truth, stands by it,
Nor ever tries to shy it,
Whoever may deny it, or openly defy it.
He hears a lie and slays it,
He owes a debt and pays it;
And, as I've heard him praise it,
He knows the game, and plays it.
He sees the path Christ trod,
And grips the hand of God.
He has a mind, and he knows it,
He has a will, and shows it;
He sees his way, and goes it,
He draws a line, and toes it.
He has a chance, and takes it,
A friendly hand and shakes it;
A rule, and never breaks it,
If there's no time, he makes it.
He loves the truth, stands by it,
Nor ever tries to shy it,
Whoever may deny it, or openly defy it.
He hears a lie and slays it,
He owes a debt and pays it;
And, as I've heard him praise it,
He knows the game, and plays it.
He sees the path Christ trod,
And grips the hand of God.
In closing, let’s revisit that
verse from Ecclesiastes. Just why is
the day of death better? At birth, you
are largely a blank slate—your reputation is nothing (apart from your
connection with Mom and Dad), so your name is little more than a mere label.
However, at your death you take your reputation with you. God may or may not confront you with a
checklist, at the top of which is integrity; if He does, though, you might find
yourself in a far worse crucible than did John Proctor...
“Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'.” In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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