What ever happened to honor and integrity?

As I watch our future "leaders" debate and jostle for position in the next election, there are two words that never come into any conversation: honor and integrity. What has happened to these two elements in today's society?

First, honor is defined as "the esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; reverence; veneration." The Bible addresses honor in all venues whether it be family, church, in submission to rulers, the social realm or the body of Christ. The definition suggests that if something or someone is due honor then it or they are due honor regardless of opinion or external influence. In today's self-centered world, honor, or the giving of it, is not intrinsically rewarding to the person giving honor so, naturally, it decreases in value, eventually disappearing to the point of extinction. And, that is our world today.

Integrity, on the other hand, is defined as "the quality or state of being of sound moral principle uprightness ,honesty, and sincerity." Interestingly, there is no direct Greek word translation for integrity in the Bible. The closest Greek word is the one which translates to perfect or complete. Some suggest that to have integrity one must be complete and whole, and in order to do this, one must be in Christ.

The absence of the two words in the world makes sense from a Christian perspective because, according to our study of the scriptures, to receive honor one must be be of sound moral principle...perfect and complete. Again, it makes sense to me why the two words have disappeared from our political realm, but in another, it is alarming when one comes to the realization that our leaders do not even try to reach these standards anymore, and we, who elect them, do not even work to hold them to these standards.

Honor and integrity are missing from today's society and that fits right in line with scripture, but what does not fit is why these two words are missing from today's Christian church? An article I read recently stated that "as the church we have abandoned the idea of perfection, preferring instead to dwell on God’s acceptance of our failures, rather than on His ability to deliver us from them. This attitude works contrary to the notion of deliverance which is obtained through faith in the name of Christ Jesus."

Now, I do not believe you can achieve perfection this side of heaven, but that should not stop us from pursuing it with all that we have. The pursuit of perfection is a spiritual act of honor and integrity because we are called to be imitators of Christ, and we are called to the obedience of His Word. There are too many of us who put our needs and opinions before those of our Savior, and by doing this we become disqualified for the traits of honor and integrity. Instead, we are content to continue to dwell in our sin day in and day out. We prefer to dwell "on God's acceptance of our failures" instead of His holy power to help us overcome them. Honor and integrity are two traits that belong to the Christian! May we claim them as ours in Christ for His great glory!