We Shall Walk in Our Integrity!
We Shall Walk in Our Integrity!
“As for me, in my integrity I shall walk.”—PS. 26:11.
1, 2. What did Job say about his integrity, and what is indicated regarding him in Job chapter 31?
IN ANCIENT times, objects were often weighed on a beam scale. It usually consisted of a horizontal beam, or bar, that pivoted on a peg at its center. A pan hung from each end of the bar. The object being weighed was put in one pan and a weight in the other. God’s people were to use honest scales and weights.—Prov. 11:1.
2 When the godly man Job was suffering under satanic attack, he said: “[Jehovah] will weigh me in accurate scales and God will get to know my integrity.” (Job 31:6) In that regard, Job mentioned a number of situations that could put an integrity keeper to the test. But Job actually passed the test successfully, as implied by his words recorded in Job chapter 31. His fine example may well move us to act in similar ways and say with conviction as did the psalmist David: “As for me, in my integrity I shall walk.”—Ps. 26:11.
3. Why is it important to be faithful to God in both large and small matters?
3 Although Job was sorely tested, he remained faithful to God. Some might even say that Job’s severe tests and staunch integrity keeping were of heroic proportions. We are not suffering exactly as Job did. However, we must be faithful to God in matters large and small if we are to bolster our position as integrity keepers and supporters of his sovereignty.—Read Luke 16:10.
Moral Integrity Essential
4, 5. As an integrity keeper, what conduct did Job avoid?
4 To maintain our integrity to Jehovah, we must adhere to his moral standards, just as Job did. He declared: “A covenant I have concluded with my eyes. So how could I show myself attentive to a virgin? . . . If my heart has been enticed toward a woman, and I kept lying in wait at the very entranceway of my companion, let my wife do the grinding for another man, and over her let other men kneel down.”—Job 31:1, 9, 10.
5 Determined to maintain integrity to God, Job avoided gazing at a woman lustfully. As a married man, he did not flirt with a single woman or pursue romantic objectives with another man’s wife. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made a powerful statement regarding sexual morality—surely a point integrity keepers need to keep in mind.—Read Matthew 5:27, 28.
Never Resort to Devious Methods
6, 7. (a) As in the case of Job, God uses what to measure our integrity? (b) Why must we not be devious or deceptive?
6 We cannot resort to devious means if we are to be counted among integrity keepers. (Read Proverbs 3:31-33.) Job said: “If I have walked with men of untruth, and my foot hastens to deception, he [Jehovah] will weigh me in accurate scales and God will get to know my integrity.” (Job 31:5, 6) Jehovah weighs all mankind in “accurate scales.” As in Job’s case, God uses his perfect standard of justice to measure our integrity as his dedicated servants.
7 If we were to become devious or deceptive, we would not be maintaining our integrity to God. Integrity keepers have “renounced the underhanded things of which to be ashamed” and are not “walking with cunning.” (2 Cor. 4:1, 2) But what if we were devious in word or action, thus causing a fellow believer to petition God for help? Then, too bad for us! “To Jehovah I called in the distress of mine, and he proceeded to answer me,” sang the psalmist. “O Jehovah, do deliver my soul from false lips, from the tricky tongue.” (Ps. 120:1, 2) It is good to remember that God can look into our very depths, “testing out heart and kidneys” to determine whether we are genuine integrity keepers.—Ps. 7:8, 9.
Be Exemplary in Dealing With Others
8. How did Job treat others?
8 To maintain our integrity, we need to be like Job, who was just, humble, and considerate of others. He said: “If I used to refuse the judgment of my slave man or of my slave girl in their case at law with me, then what can I do when God rises up? And when he calls for an accounting, what can I answer him? Did not the One making me in the belly make him, and did not just One proceed to prepare us in the womb?”—Job 31:13-15.
9. What qualities did Job display in dealing with his servants, and how should we act in this regard?
9 Apparently, there was no complicated procedure for handling legal cases in Job’s day. Cases were conducted in an orderly way, and courts were available even to slaves. Job was just and merciful in dealing with his servants. If we are to walk in our integrity, we must display such qualities, especially if we serve as elders in the Christian congregation.
Be Generous, Not Covetous
10, 11. (a) How do we know that Job was generous and helpful? (b) Job 31:16-25 may remind us of what later Scriptural counsel?
10 Job was generous and helpful, not selfish and covetous. He said: “If . . . the eyes of the widow I would cause to fail, and I used to eat my morsel by myself, while the fatherless boy did not eat from it . . . If I used to see anyone perishing from having no garment . . . If I waved my hand to and fro against the fatherless boy, when I would see need of my assistance in the gate, let my own shoulder blade fall from its shoulder, and let my own arm be broken from its upper bone.” And Job would not have kept his integrity if he had said to gold: “You are my trust!”—Job 31:16-25.
11 Such poetic expressions may remind us of these words of the disciple James: “The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world.” (Jas. 1:27) We may also recall Jesus’ warning: “Keep your eyes open and guard against every sort of covetousness, because even when a person has an abundance his life does not result from the things he possesses.” Jesus then gave an illustration about a covetous rich man who died as one “not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:15-21) To be integrity keepers, we must not succumb to sinful covetousness or greed. Covetousness is idolatry because the object of a greedy person’s craving diverts attention from Jehovah and thus becomes an idol. (Col. 3:5) Integrity and greed do not mix!
Hold Firmly to True Worship
12, 13. What example did Job set in avoiding idolatry?
12 Integrity keepers do not deviate from pure worship. Job did not do so, for he declared: “If I used to see the light when it would flash forth, or the precious moon walking along, and my heart began to be enticed in secrecy and my hand proceeded to kiss my mouth, that too would be an error for attention by the justices, for I should have denied the true God above.”—Job 31:26-28.
13 Job did not worship inanimate things. If his heart secretly became enticed upon beholding heavenly bodies, such as the moon, and if his ‘hand kissed his mouth,’ perhaps throwing a kiss with his hand in an idolatrous act, he would be an idolater who denied God. (Deut. 4:15, 19) To maintain our integrity to God, we must avoid all idolatry.—Read 1 John 5:21.
Do Not Be Vindictive or Hypocritical
14. Why can we say that Job was not malicious?
14 Job was neither malicious nor cruel. He knew that such traits would betray a lack of integrity, for he said: “If I used to rejoice at the extinction of one intensely hating me, or I felt excited because evil had found him . . . , I did not allow my palate to sin by asking for an oath against his soul.”—Job 31:29, 30.
15. Why is it wrong to rejoice when calamity befalls someone hating us?
15 Upright Job never rejoiced if calamity befell someone hating him. A later proverb warns: “When your enemy falls, do not rejoice; and when he is caused to stumble, may your heart not be joyful, that Jehovah may not see and it be bad in his eyes and he certainly turn back his anger from against him.” (Prov. 24:17, 18) Since Jehovah can read the heart, he knows if we are secretly rejoicing over another person’s calamity and surely does not approve of such an attitude. (Prov. 17:5) God may deal with us accordingly, for he says: “Vengeance is mine, and retribution.”—Deut. 32:35.
16. Even if we are not rich, how can we be hospitable?
16 Job was hospitable. (Job 31:31, 32) Although we may not be rich, we can “follow the course of hospitality.” (Rom. 12:13) We can share something simple with others, remembering that “better is a dish of vegetables where there is love than a manger-fed bull and hatred along with it.” (Prov. 15:17) Eating with a fellow integrity keeper in a loving atmosphere will make even a simple meal enjoyable and will surely benefit us spiritually.
17. Why should we not try to hide grave sin?
17 It must have been spiritually upbuilding to enjoy Job’s hospitality, for he was not a hypocrite. He was not like the ungodly men who slipped into the first-century congregation and were “admiring personalities for the sake of their own benefit.” (Jude 3, 4, 16) Nor did Job cover over his transgression or ‘hide his error in his shirt pocket,’ fearing contempt if others learned of it. He was willing to be examined by God, to whom he would make any needed confession. (Job 31:33-37) If we were to sin gravely, let us not try to hide such wrongdoing to save face. How can we show that we are trying to maintain integrity? By acknowledging our error, repenting, seeking spiritual help, and doing all we can to make amends.—Prov. 28:13; Jas. 5:13-15.
An Integrity Keeper on Trial
18, 19. (a) Why can it be said that Job never exploited anyone? (b) What was Job willing to do if he was in the wrong?
18 Job was honest and fair. Therefore, he could say: “If against me my own ground would cry for aid, and together its furrows themselves would weep; if its fruitage I have eaten without money, and the soul of its owners I have caused to pant, instead of wheat let the thorny weed go forth, and instead of barley stinking weeds.” (Job 31:38-40) Job never grabbed the land of others, and he did not exploit workers. Like him, we need to maintain integrity to Jehovah in matters large and small.
19 Before his three companions as well as the young man Elihu, Job had spoken about the way he had lived. Against his lifelong record bearing his “signature,” Job had invited an opponent-at-law to file charges. If it was proved that Job was in the wrong, he would be willing to suffer punishment. So he submitted his case and awaited the judgment of the divine court. Thus, ‘the words of Job came to an end.’—Job 31:35, 40.
You Can Maintain Integrity
20, 21. (a) Why was Job able to maintain integrity? (b) How can we cultivate love for God?
20 Job was able to maintain his integrity because he loved God, and Jehovah loved and helped him. Said Job: “Life and loving-kindness [“loyal love,” ftn.] you [Jehovah] have worked with me; and your own care has guarded my spirit.” (Job 10:12) Moreover, Job showed love for others, realizing that anyone withholding loyal love from fellow humans will abandon the reverential fear of the Almighty. (Job 6:14) Integrity keepers love God and neighbor.—Matt. 22:37-40.
21 We can cultivate love for God by reading his Word daily and meditating on what it reveals about him. In heartfelt prayer, we can praise Jehovah and thank him for his goodness to us. (Phil. 4:6, 7) We can sing to Jehovah and benefit from regular association with his people. (Heb. 10:23-25) Then, too, our love for God will grow as we engage in the ministry and declare “the good news of salvation by him.” (Ps. 96:1-3) In such ways, we can maintain integrity, as did the psalmist who sang: “The drawing near to God is good for me. In the Sovereign Lord Jehovah I have placed my refuge.”—Ps. 73:28.
22, 23. As upholders of Jehovah’s sovereignty, how do our activities compare with those of earlier integrity keepers?
22 Over the centuries, Jehovah has given integrity keepers many different assignments. Noah built an ark and was “a preacher of righteousness.” (2 Pet. 2:5) Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land, but he succeeded only because he read the “book of the law . . . day and night” and acted in harmony with it. (Josh. 1:7, 8) First-century Christians made disciples and met regularly to study the Scriptures.—Matt. 28:19, 20.
23 We uphold Jehovah’s sovereignty and maintain our integrity by preaching righteousness, making disciples, applying Scriptural counsel, and assembling with fellow believers at meetings, assemblies, and conventions. Such activities help us to be courageous, spiritually strong, and successful in doing God’s will. This is not too difficult for us because we have the support of our heavenly Father and his Son. (Deut. 30:11-14; 1 Ki. 8:57) Moreover, we have the backing of “the whole association of brothers,” who also walk in integrity and revere Jehovah as their Sovereign Lord.—1 Pet. 2:17.
How Would You Respond?
• How should we view Jehovah’s moral standards?
• What qualities of Job especially appeal to you?
• As shown at Job 31:29-37, how did Job conduct himself?
• Why is it possible for us to maintain our integrity to God?
[Study Questions]
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Job maintained his integrity to Jehovah. So can we!
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We can maintain our integrity!