Integrity

What is integrity? Really. There’s a lot of good definitions floating around about integrity a lot of good quotes. But what does it really mean to have integrity and does it really exist? I think integrity does exist. I think it’s buried, though sometimes really really deep inside it’s there.

If you ask most people to define right and wrong, they can give a really good text book answer. People know the difference. They know what’s acceptable in society, what’s legal, what’s not.

Sure there are some issues that may have some gray area, but for the most part right and wrong are black and white.

So why then are there so many issues? If integrity is present in everyone, why isn’t it displayed?

I don’t fully know why. It’s a question I’ve been asking myself. It’s a question that puzzles me greatly.

So is it that there’s a lack of integrity , a lack of morals? Or a lack of leadership?

If that integrity is there, then why isn’t it shown? Is it because our society and peers don’t encourage behavior that mirrors integrity? Is it because it’s easy let things slip one by one until small things turn to big things, and bad decisions lead to worse decisions?

Young people do not understand the weight of integrity, but it’s not entirely their fualt. They are surrounded by music, videos, and a culture that says it’s okay to be bad, it’s okay to be disrespectful, it’s okay to only worry about yourself. It’s okay even to commite crimes, because if all these celebrities they look up to can commit crimes and get away with it, then it must be alright.

Maybe it’s time to stop shaking our head at adolescence and start stepping in and modeling integrity. Speak it into their lives, build it up, and show them what it looks like. Integrity is there in all of us, but it needs nurturing, it needs encouragement, and it needs a role model to go off.

We can and must do this if we want any lasting change to come in regard to integrity. So let’s stop pointing the finger and start doing what’s right.