Integrity of heart results from walking in wisdom. Integrity was what I was longing for when I told friends and family that I did not want to dishonor God or Kim in the way I walked through grief. I remember the weight of those early moments. Looking back, I realize now I knew deep down the vulnerability I faced.
I had choices to make. Integrity was not a given. It was a choice. It was a battle. It was a constant decision I would face every day.
“Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive against them.” Proverbs 28:4
If I forsake the laws and ways of God, I praise the wicked. God forbid that I praise the wicked. However, if I keep the law—God’s instructions, commandments, statutes, and ways—I strive against the wicked.
Again, I had choices to make. I had a constant decision to face. In Solomon’s words, I had to strive. And as it turns out, it’s a daily striving for integrity.
“Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways. The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding, but a companion of gluttons shames his father.” Proverbs 28:6-7
Poverty is to be desired over wealth if it keeps you walking in integrity and not in crooked ways. If you keep the law, Solomon calls you a son of understanding. By contrast, a companion of gluttons shames his father.
Walk in integrity.
“If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” Proverbs 28:9
People of integrity run to the law and submit themselves under biblical teaching. They do not turn away from the law. If you turn away from the law, your prayer is an abomination. Proverbs speaks of several abominations. Here, in verse nine, our prayer is an abomination because we do not turn our ears to the law. In Proverbs 3:32 a devious person is an abomination. In Proverbs 6, there are seven abominations: “…haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers” (Proverbs 6:17-19). In Proverbs 8:7, wickedness is an abomination to God’s lips. Proverbs 11:20 states as clearly as any other passage, “Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those of blameless ways are his delight.”
Walk not as an abomination. Instead, walk in integrity. Blameless. Be a delight to God.
Even and especially in your grief.
“Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.” Proverbs 28:14
This walk of integrity is for our own good. Those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways of integrity will be blessed. If you harden your heart to his ways, your heart will fall into calamity. Think eternity. Ignoring redemption and the ways of the redeemed leads to an eternity of calamity. Proverbs 28:18 reinforces this message: “Whoever walks in integrity will be delivered, but he who is crooked in his ways will suddenly fall.”
Walk in integrity.
“Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with his tongue.” Proverbs 28:23
If you’re walking with someone in grief, be the truth teller for them. Speak clearly and openly. Be gentle but inspire the mourner to walk in integrity. If they stray from the way, rebuke them. Gently but firmly. Any and every abomination is serious. Refuse to flatter them with your tongue.
Help them walk in integrity.
“Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.” Proverbs 28:26
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