Today I spoke to some STI Recto students about becoming people who have high ethical standards–people of integrity. Isn’t this a fine looking group of young people? I started by telling them a few benefits of a life of integrity:
It glorifies God
Making honest, ethical decisions will glorify God–this is something that God can take pleasure in. The purpose of our lives should be to live for God. It is impossible to do this without being a person of character integrity.
It gives you a clear conscience
We have to live with the decisions we make. If you are like me, it is hard to sleep knowing that you’ve done something wrong. If we have integrity we can live with a clear conscience. We also don’t have to worry about someone finding out who we really are, because we can be authentic people.
It gives you a good reputation
None of us would want the word “liar” or “cheater” written on our tombstone. We build our character and our reputation every day by our actions. We should strive to be someone that God, our family and our friends could be proud of.
It gives you good relationships with others
Relationships are built on trust. People will not trust you if they know your character is seriously flawed. To be trusted, you have to be trustworthy. To be trustworthy, you must be a person of integrity.