This past week, I found myself in a classroom teaching a group of high school students about the Christian faith. (Yes, it was terrifying. Yes, I have crazy respect for teachers.) While waiting for the class to begin, I couldn’t help but overhear what was happening in the classroom next door. The teacher was teaching math to his students and talking about integers. He explained that an integer is a number that cannot be divided into fractions. It got me thinking about a related word: integrity. I assumed they shared the same origin, so I quickly looked it up. Sure enough, they come from the same root word, which means “the state of being whole and undivided.”
I don’t think I ever thought of integrity that way, as the state of being undivided, but it makes a lot of sense. When our thoughts, words and actions don’t match up, we are not whole; rather, we are divided against ourselves. And when we are divided against ourselves, we can never be settled or at peace.
Integrity, therefore, is the quest for wholeness. It is organizing our inner lives in such a way that everything lines up and supports everything else. There is so much freedom to be had when we can integrate (another word with the same root) our thoughts, words, and actions into one authentic package. When Jesus said, “the truth shall set your free” I don’t think he was only referencing being honest with another, but being honest with ourselves. Integrity, honesty, wholeness, and authenticity are truly their own rewards.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” included a story about a 72-year-old black woman walking a long distance daily during the bus boycott. She was tired and physically weak, and someone asked her why she continued to support the non-violent protest. Her response will always be treasured, “My feet is tired”, she said, “but my soul is at rest.” That is a person of integrity. That is a person who is not divided but has aligned everything in her life to a common purpose, and as a result, she has found her peace.
Okay, back to teaching the kids. After my presentation, I opened it up for questions. After some prodding from the teacher, one of the students asked me, “What is the most important quality for a Christian?” I thought for a moment and said, “Let me give you a math lesson….”
