When a wise person was asked why Shakespeare used so many court fools in his plays. The answer, he said, is obvious: “When Shakespeare wanted the truth to be heard, he employed a fool, for only a man with nothing to lose will speak the truth in high places.” Shakespeare was wrong! A man of integrity will stand with his convictions. The word itself means wholeness, such as in math an integer is a number that hasn’t been divided into fractions. A man of integrity is unwilling to play the fool, is not divided against himself, he is whole and unwilling to be all things to all people. A person who will tell you his truth, will tell the same truth every day.
Gordon Arthur wrote a piece for the Readers Digest, back in 1966, in speaking of college graduates and what industry looks for in the hiring process. In their screening process, they are not looking just for high grades, social activity and or athletic ability, those things will carry an employee only so far. If he/she is to move up in the company, to be entrusted with command decisions, there must be a plus factor, something that takes mere ability and doubles or even triples its effectiveness. To describe this magic characteristic there is only one word, integrity. A person who is not divided against himself, he doesn’t think one thing and say another. He is not in conflict with his own principles. Integrity means having the courage to go along with your convictions, to be congruent, to live up to the best that is in you. No one can force you to live up to the best that is in yourself. No one can make you obey your conscience. A person of integrity does those things anyway. Integrity means living up to the best that is in you. Martin Luther, during a dark time in human history, facing his enemies in the city where his death had been decreed said, “It is neither safe nor prudent to do aught against your conscience. Here I stand; God help me, I cannot do otherwise.” Integrity means having a conscience; we must listen to it.
Integrity implies a certain amount of wisdom and intelligence. Some might think that integrity implies seeing through things. But I rather believe that integrity implies the wisdom to see around things, reaching our destination by detour rather than by direct assault. The closest route to a destination isn’t always a straight line.
Alma described integrity perfectly in the 27 and 28th verses of Alma in the Book of Mormon. He said; “…let your hearts be full, drawn out continually for your welfare and also for the welfare of those who are around you. And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after ye have done all of these things, if ye turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and the afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need- I say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do deny the faith. (Alma 34:27-28)
If what you pray and what you do are the same, you have integrity.