ERICA DUNOMES

Integrity is still a thing. I can think of a few people that I know of who would shout, “Say it louder for the people in the back!” It certainly wouldn’t be without reason. Why? Because it seems that having integrity has become a lost quality amongst the people of the world today. Not all people. There is still a remnant of people left who are holding fast to their integrity no matter what. Amongst that remnant are kingdom women of God. Integrity is important. So, let’s unpack the importance of being a woman of integrity.

What is integrity?

Integrity as it is used in the Bible is completeness, moral innocence, and uprightness. The dictionary defines integrity as being whole, honest and consistent in character. In simpler terms, integrity is the true you on the inside; what you stand for and practice each and every day.

Women who operate in integrity are women who possess certain characteristics. They are women who do right by others; women who are thoughtful, caring, truthful, considerate, reliable, trustworthy and so on.

Why does integrity matter?

Integrity matters because it provides people with a sense of doing something meaningful with their lives. To have integrity causes a person to feel as if they are a part of constantly contributing to good of his/her life as well as of the world. When concerning their conscience’s sake, their minds can rest and be calm.

Do you have to believe in God and be saved in order to have integrity?

No, you do not. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be saved to have integrity. In fact, there are many people in the world who do not believe in God that hold themselves to some level of integrity. Truth be told, every human being was created by God and has been wired to have integrity operating in them. But if you are saved and have given your life to Jesus, does God call you to living a life of integrity? Absolutely. Being saved and living with integrity is a different ball game than not being saved and living with integrity.

When God calls you to integrity He calls you to a greater standard. Here are a few ways how:

• God created you in His image and likeness. His word says that He is holy. It also says that He calls you to be holy just as He is holy. Integrity is a standard of holiness before God.

Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. ~Leviticus 20:7

• When you give your life to Jesus, you become a new creation in Him; called to live a transformed, completely new life. Integrity is a standard of your new life in Christ.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 
~2 Corinthians 5:17

• You are now a child of God, and simply put, He has an expectation of righteousness through good works for all of His children. Integrity is a standard of righteousness.

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. ~2 Corinthians 5:21

There are two ways to have integrity.

Worldly or Biblical. Women of worldly integrity have a code of living that refuses to acknowledge God. Women of biblical integrity have a code of living where God is acknowledged. Do you think I’m stretching with that? I hope not. Let me further explain what I mean.

Women of worldly integrity do not live according to the word of God. They don’t believe in Him so, how can they? Their lives are guided by what they perceive to be important to themselves. Women of Biblical integrity live by the word of God because they believe in Him. Their lives are guided by what they perceive to be important to God. Frankly speaking, both adhere to a code of living by what is perceived to be morally right. The difference, though, is that one does what is morally right in their own eyes; the other what is morally right in the eyes of God.

“I believe that God has been laying on my spirit to be a woman of integrity, and He’s calling me to that.” ~Erica Dunomes

These are words that I penned in my journal a few short years after I had recommitted my life to Christ. Like a newlywed in marriage (I actually was a newlywed in marriage), I was still new to my walk with Him. Though my desire all of my life has always been to do what is right, at that time, I still had things that I was doing wrong. Thankfully, God, in His sovereign grace and mercy convicted me of those things. In complete honesty, I had just started taking my walk with Christ serious. With a newfound desire to please Him, I embarked on the journey of allowing Him to teach me about being a woman of integrity.

I studied the Word of God, read relatable books, and listened to biblically based sermons to help me see and understand what a woman of integrity looked like. I did not have many examples growing up. I trusted God to lead me to people who were great examples and role models. With what I learned from my Source and all of my resources; I did my best to apply that knowledge to my life.

Here’s what I learned that a woman of biblical integrity looks like:

1.A woman of biblical integrity is whole in her entirety. She is an uncompromised, finished masterpiece of God. She knows who she is in Christ and does not let the world define that for her. She also does not give in to the pressures of their compromising ways. In moments that she falls, she relies on God’s strength to get back up. She stands strong in Him complete and lacks nothing.

2. A woman of biblical integrity lives a life free from sin and moral wrongdoing. She understands that her life is not her own. She is aware that her life was bought with the price of the precious blood of Jesus. She is a woman who has become dead to sin but alive to God and seeks to render every part of her body as instruments of righteousness to Him. She knows that she is God’s workmanship created unto good works. She seeks daily to do those works.

3. A woman of biblical integrity adheres to being righteous, honest, truthful, and just. She walks without blame and does what is right and good. She speaks the truth in her heart and does not lie. She does not hurt others with her words, do wrong to her neighbor, nor brings shame to her family or friends. She despises the practice of sin. She does not condone those who practice sin but honors those who fear the Lord. She keeps her promises even if it hurts her to do so. She does not change.

4. A woman of biblical integrity lives her life in Jesus based on relationship not religion. First, she understands that Jesus didn’t die on the cross just to take away her sins but to also restore her unto right relationship with God the Father and Himself. Second, she realizes that doing religious works are not as important as knowing the One True God and His Son Jesus whom He sent. Thirdly, she knows that her relationship with God is based on a love that was given to her first by God that she can never be separated from. So, she is adamantly intentional about the time she spends cultivating and maintaining a right relationship with Him.

Three Ps a Woman with Biblical Integrity Operates In:

Purpose:

Every woman who has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ has been called to a greater purpose. There is an expected end for her life that God has in mind for her. Operating in biblical integrity will be one of the avenues that gets her there.

Power:

Every woman who has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ knows that Jesus is the Source of her power. The Holy Spirit of God is the conduit through which that power flows. Operating in biblical integrity will keep her vitally connected to Him, for without Him, she can do absolutely nothing.

Peace:

Every woman who has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ has been given His peace. God never said in His word that her life would be without trials, afflictions or storms. He did, however, say that when those issues arise, to not let her heart be troubled by them. Operating in biblical integrity will give her the strength she needs to endure them while keeping her peace.

Biblical integrity comes with many blessings.

This is why being a woman of biblical integrity is so important. More than it has to do with doing moral and ethically correct things, it has to do with who becomes the orchestrator of them in your life. You or God.

After learning what biblical integrity is, have you been feeling like God has been calling you to be a woman of biblical integrity? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.