It has often been said that ignorance is bliss, meaning that to be wise is folly. Nothing can be further from the truth. As with most areas of life, a man must recognize the benefits of integrity before he will truly find its protection of utmost importance. Our passage describes one benefit of integrity when it says that integrity preserves a person. Preservation can refer to several areas like being kept from trouble or kept from death. Both of these would be considered invaluable. Additionally, the Bible says that integrity upholds the believer (Psalm 41:12). This means that the Lord holds men up in the midst of troublous times. Proverbs 11:3 declares another benefit: “The integrity of the upright shall guide them.” Praise God! Integrity guides men in the right way and keeps them from trouble!
Simply for being a man of integrity, Job suffered greatly. No matter what obstacles Job was forced to overcome, he would not relinquish his integrity. In the midst of Satan’s attacks, the Lord commended Job for his integrity when He said that Job “holdeth fast his integrity” (Job 2:3). When Job’s wife verbally joined in the attacks, she pressured him to relinquish his integrity. Job wisely responded to her by saying, “Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh.” Job was not willing to relinquish his integrity. There are things men consider important in life, but few realize the paramount importance of maintaining one’s integrity. The Bible repeatedly stresses the importance of integrity: “Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool” (Proverbs 19:1). This passage illustrates that the most important things in life cannot be purchased with money, nor can they be lost due to the absence of wealth.
As this study has shown, integrity is a matter of the heart, yet it also affects every other aspect of a man’s life. Though men sometimes try to separate an individual’s walk from his true heart’s condition, the Bible reveals the futility of such. Testifying to this truth, the Bible speaks of walking in integrity (Psalm 26:1, 11; Proverbs 19:1; Proverbs 20:7). The Bible says that “by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:16, 20) and this principle applies to one’s integrity too. Our passage from Proverbs reveals that as the “just” man walks in his integrity, his children are likewise blessed because of his walk. The secrets of a person’s heart are often unveiled in his walk. Furthermore, a man who walks in his integrity does not fear the judgment of God (Psalm 26:1). Men need integrity of heart, but that integrity must manifest itself in their daily walk.
The Lord blessed the throne of David and desired to do the same for his posterity. Because the Lord wanted to establish Solomon’s rule, He provided some guidelines for Solomon. One prominent issue involved Solomon following in his father’s footsteps by living with integrity of heart. Integrity is very much a matter of the heart. In fact, four times in scripture integrity is associated with the heart. Twice the Bible refers to the integrity of Abimelech’s heart (Genesis 20:5-6) and another two times it refers to the integrity of David’s heart (1 Kings 9:4; Psalm 78:72). Though these men had little else in common, both understood that integrity involved a matter of the heart. A lack of integrity is first and foremost a heart issue.
Men used to be commended for their level of integrity and one's handshake was considered a man’s bond. As societies continue to crumble from the pollution of immorality, men of integrity are quickly disappearing. Unfortunately, churches seem far from immune to this moral decline. What is integrity? In a narrow sense, integrity as used in scripture can be difficult to pinpoint. The word integrity occurs sixteen times in scripture. By considering each occurrence, one can discover clues that provide insight as to its meaning. Integrity is contrasted with the words like perverse (Proverbs 19:1) and perverseness (Proverbs 11:3). Conversely, integrity is used in conjunction with words like upright (Job 2:3; Proverbs 11:3) and uprightness (1 Kings 9:4; Psalm 25:21). In our passage, the word integrity is used alongside the word innocency (Genesis 20:5). These facts would lead the believer to realize that integrity speaks of a moral purity and moral correctness.
Even since the Garden in Eden, God never intended for man to consider Him to be distant or unapproachable. In fact, the Bible repeatedly points out the opposite scenario. God's word proclaims that the Lord did not merely claim His followers as servants, but referred to them as His friends! He specifically referred to Abraham as the "friend of God" (2 Chronicles 20:7; James 2:23). He spoke to Moses “face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend” (Exodus 33:11). These are not the actions of a God who desires separation from His creation. Though this intimate association with God seems remote and only expressed on a few occasions, John points out that we too can be God's friends (if we obey Him). This friendship must be based on mutual grounds because those who love the Lord are never lovers of the world. James 4:4 points out that “friendship of the world is enmity with God.” Though it appears that few people were called the friend of God, John chapter 15 suggests that this honour is much more prevalent than would appear. Christ told His followers, “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:14). Furthermore, Christ laid down His life for His friends (John 15:13).
The Lord healed many people during His earthly ministry. Today's passage speaks of a particular man who had been delivered from devil possession. What a relief he must have experienced! However, the people in his community did not rejoice that the Lord had performed such a wonderful miracle. In fact, they turned against the Saviour and wanted Him to depart from their coasts. The Lord complied with their demands; however, the man delivered of the devils wanted to travel with the Lord. He loved the Lord so much that he wanted to stay close to Him. However, as the healed man sought to enter the ship, Christ told him to return to his home and tell his friends what had happened to him. The Lord knew that this man was in the best position to reach out to his friends with the truth. He knew this man's testimony concerning the truth was what they needed to hear and believe. Christians should always be prepared and ready for times when opportunities arise to tell their friends about the truth. Acts chapter 10 records another example when Cornelius called his friends together expecting to hear Simon Peter preach the truth of the gospel. Real friends insure that their friends are put into a position to hear the truth and never squander spiritual opportunities.
Friendships generally develop around some type of common ground or linked association. These activities can be either good or bad, righteous or wicked. Pilate and Herod are prime examples of the wrong kind of relationship nurtured through a sinful association. Before they joined forces against the Son of God, they “were at enmity between themselves.” The word enmity reveals that they not only were not friends, but actually disdained each other to the point of being enemies. Nothing could repair this breach until they joined together in the trial of the Saviour. Standing together against Jesus Christ repaired this relationship and created an unholy association. On that day, they found common ground by uniting together in mockery of the Son of God. The Bible speaks of a future time when, “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD” (Psalm 2:2). Earthly kings rarely get along unless they find a common interest or benefit. Far too often, these rulers find themselves in an unholy alliance rather than a holy one.
Good friends are a tremendous blessing to be nurtured and treasured. Yet, friendships are to have certain God-ordained limitations. The wrong kinds of friends and inappropriate associations have led many people away from the truth and astray from God. The Bible provides detailed instructions to help people avoid any relationship that tends to lead to rebellion against God. Although these instructions were explicitly given while Israel remained under the Law of God, they forever reveal God's feelings toward those who would lead someone away from Him. Just as it was instructed of the Israelites, men today should never consent nor hearken to those who seek to lure them astray (Deuteronomy 13:8). In refusing to listen to those individuals, a believer should never feel guilt or pity the so-called friend, but rather find joy from making the right decision.
Few men, if any, have been afflicted like Job. His troubles involved the catastrophic loss of family members as well as physical ailments beyond most people's ability to endure. During the depths of these difficult trials, Job's three “friends” (Job 2:11) visited him. They showed up to comfort him but instead turned out to be additional sources of grief. Each word spoken by his friends seemed to compound his already miserable condition and circumstances. Job did not consider this to be the work of a friend and told them that, “To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend.” Later in the same chapter, Job said that his friends dug a pit for him (Job 6:27). Job’s friends should have shown him pity during his troublesome times instead of scorning (Job 16:20) and abhorring him (Job 19:19). True friends know how to comfort and console their friends as they experience trouble and pain in life. They certainly do not unrighteously judge and condemn.
