Integrity

Joey and Carla Link

September 25, 2019

Every child loves a good Bible story. They hear the story and often see it as a great adventure. What little ones don’t see and can’t see is the integrity of the men who are God’s heroes in these stories. As your kids get older, do they ever go back and re-read the Bible stories of the Old Testament especially? Or do they think they already know them by heart?

What is Biblical integrity?

According to Webster’s Dictionary, it is defined as “following a moral code; to be incorruptible.”

According to a Bible Dictionary, the biblical virtue of integrity points to a consistency between what is inside and what is outside, meaning, are your beliefs acted out in your behavior for example.

Between

belief and behavior
our words and our ways
our attitudes and our actions
our values and our practice

A person of integrity will put the needs of others before his own. He will “turn the other cheek” rather than hurt the other person. A person of integrity would rather die than deny, or turn away from what he believes in.

During a Family Night, ask your kids what their definition of “integrity” would be.

Have them write it down and have all share with the other family members.
Ask them each to share an Old Testament Bible character they think was a person of integrity and have them share why.
Ask them to come up with Godly character traits they think a person of integrity should have.
Ask if they know a verse where that is mentioned.
Assign someone to keep a list of all that are shared.
Have that person read them all and ask everyone to silently pick one they need to work on.
Tell them in a month you will meet with them to see how they are doing working on the one they picked (great accountability). You can do this individually or as a group.
Have them share the one they are working on.
Have everyone else share how they have seen them working on it.
During the month before the meeting, pick one night a week and read a story out of a Children’s Bible Story book you know they think they know by heart. Ask them to share why these Biblical heroes are men of integrity.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward” (Psalm19:7-11 NIV).