There is a cost to integrity. You can be as honest as most people and blend in with the crowd without much sacrifice. If you want to be the person God calls you to be, however, you will face some resistance. There is a cost to integrity.
Integrity is worth the cost. There will be problems in this world no matter what kind of character you have. Better to have the satisfaction of doing the right thing than the shame of doing the wrong thing. Either way there are problems. Integrity is worth the cost.
On occasion, however, the cost can be too high. The cost to integrity can be too high when we ask someone to pay the cost for us. Sometimes taking a principled stand places an unfair burden upon our families and other people around us. Integrity is important, but it is not the most important thing. The greatest thing, the Bible tells us, is love.
Usually, however, the cost of integrity is worth paying. Even then, it may require more than we have. That is when we turn to Jesus. Jesus can give us the courage, the faith, the integrity that we lack. Integrity, in the literal sense, means wholeness. Jesus makes broken people whole. He gives us what we need to be people of integrity. We pay a price for integrity, but Jesus paid a much greater price for our salvation. Turn to Jesus for help in paying the cost of integrity.
In our sermon this Sunday we will look at the Book of Job and talk about the cost of integrity.