The value and purpose of living in this world lie in our relationships with fellow human beings; without them we are as good as dead. We enjoy existence because others make us feel loved and affirm the purpose of our lives—the very opposite of death. Yet the desire for such high regard from others must never come at the expense of our integrity. The One who knows us better than we can ever know ourselves is God, who created us in His own image.
While everything else should be treated as morning mist, integrity is an eternal value that describes life itself. A person’s integrity has nothing to do with physical appearance—whether one is blind, crippled, or able-bodied. The worst affliction in this life is to be perpetually anxious about how others view us. Some wish their physical appearance were different, but that wish has no bearing on the overbearing worth of integrity. Jesus clarified this when He declared:
“If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell” (Matthew 5:29–30 NIV).
Jesus was pointing to the real purpose of existence, which surpasses physical appearance. Many people suffer from an identity crisis. They act according to the viewpoint of others rather than out of their own true selves. They constantly seek the approval of others instead of fulfilling their own God-given purpose. Such people remain deficient in integrity as long as they make judgments based on the perspectives of others. This is not to advocate unnecessary disagreement; there is nothing wrong with agreeing with others when their intellectual convictions align with one’s own.
Each human being should consider himself or herself a lost child of God before entertaining the status conferred by those around them. Like the prodigal son, one should not attempt to travel back to the Father via someone else. The decision to return to the Father is made out of free will—out of personal integrity—and has nothing to do with the opinions of other people. If a person has committed dreadful things in this life and does not pretend to be better, that person’s integrity can remain intact. This differs greatly from someone who does wrong under the influence of others.
God loves those who value their integrity, regardless of their sinful condition. They may be despised by others, but God holds them in high regard. That is why some are confused when they read passages like the one in which Jesus promised paradise to the thief on the cross without preconditions (Luke 23:41). That thief had done no good work to deserve paradise; his dignity was intact.
This truth is reinforced in the message to the church in Laodicea:
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:14–16 NIV).
The key phrase is: “I wish you were either one or the other!” (verse 15). Jesus is focusing on integrity rather than on sins committed or avoided. So much of humanity’s trouble stems from a failure to grasp this Scripture. Driven by self-centredness, most people prefer wearing other people’s identities rather than their own. A person’s identity is rooted in God, not in other people. The essence of any personality is preserved within the self. An honest person, for example, does not hide his wickedness. Corrupt individuals like the chief tax collector Zacchaeus are safe as long as they do not pretend to be good people.
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 18:10–14 NIV).
The dividing line is honesty. A person who pretends to be good when the opposite is true is not acceptable before God. It is impossible for anyone living in the flesh to claim independent goodness. Even Jesus, as perfect as He was, refused to be called “Good Master”:
“And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:16–17 KJV).
Certain things are consciously preserved and protected in this life. Besides human life itself, assets are cherished. Yet the highest worth is determined by wealth acquired through fair exchange, in which others also benefit. Without producing something valued by others, one is reduced to insignificance. The majority of people project an image that does not represent their true worth. They prefer to project what they would like others to see rather than who they really are. Their goal is to win favourable comments from acquaintances and strangers alike.
Such behaviour is self-deceptive and as dangerous as removing God from the picture. An uneducated person projects himself as educated; an unhappy person projects himself as extremely happy. Some pretend to like another person while inwardly seething with hatred and anger, wishing the “liked” person dead. Honesty has nothing to do with what other people do or think of us. It describes the dignity of a person—projecting true character. This enables others to know an individual’s strengths and weaknesses.
What is most astonishing is that some project themselves as rich while their character languishes in abject poverty. They fool themselves and those around them by driving expensive cars associated with the wealthy. Their only problem is an inability to show any value provided to others that would have generated such wealth.
Wealth is possible only when other people testify that they have received genuine benefits from the individual. Those benefits may be in the form of products, the arts, music, or any entertainment industry, including sport. Recreational services are as effective as tangible products. A person becomes wealthy when his output significantly benefits others who become willing to pay for what they consider valuable.
This is entirely different from criminal wealth, whose origin lies in exploiting fellow humans. Dubiously acquired wealth may make one feel comfortable among the world’s wealthy, yet the individual knows deep down that he does not belong there. Such a person is sustained by borrowed fame, which may vanish when his nefarious activities are exposed. Or he may die with a scar on his conscience, having ignored the value of his own integrity.
While appearing convenient, a life sustained by pretence is the most expensive way to live. It robs the individual of his integrity. A person can be robbed of all possessions, but nothing surpasses being robbed of one’s integrity. There is no substitute for integrity sustained by honesty. This is what led the most corrupt chief tax collector to repent unambiguously after his encounter with Jesus. His honesty drove him to be remorseful rather than to continue a flashy lifestyle sustained by dishonesty.
Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 19:8 NIV). He did not need anyone to tell him he owed restitution. He was honest enough to declare what he considered fair, even promising to repay fourfold those he had defrauded. This displays true character, valuing honesty above wealth.
It is possible to cheat other human beings at the expense of one’s integrity, but it is certainly not possible to cheat God. The secrets of an individual’s worth are known by the individual himself, just as God knows them. As long as one is honest enough not to hide those secrets, one’s integrity remains intact. What upsets God most in this world is pretence. The only people Jesus lambasted most severely were the religious Pharisees—people who assumed they were better than others, even as they received respect from ordinary people.
The most important truth to grasp is that one cannot be free when others are not free. In the early 1960s, Nelson Mandela was a lawyer. His general lifestyle could not be considered worse than that of the uneducated. He was incarcerated by the apartheid regime, yet his integrity would not allow him to enjoy personal freedom while the majority of black South Africans suffered under apartheid. What motivated him to languish in Robben Island prison for twenty-seven years was his personal integrity. Nelson Mandela may not have been a Christian, but his integrity was intact.
There is no human being of whom one can say integrity is nonexistent, because the value of an individual is found only in their integrity. Out of ignorance, many people envy those driving expensive Lamborghinis, unaware of the deficiency of their integrity, as long as those assets were acquired dubiously. The law of exchange demands that whatever accrues to an individual be matched by what has benefited other people. The quantity of those having benefited determines the value of the wealth accruing to the benefactor.
The redemption made available through Jesus is accessible only to honest people. Two reasons can cause a failure to appreciate this reality. The first is self-centredness, which describes a person who has an inflated regard for himself or herself. Such people measure themselves against those they considers worse—typical of the Pharisee who went to pray considering himself better than the tax collector (Luke 18:10–14).
The second reason is receiving praises from fellow humans. Ordinary believers, for example, feel comfortable in their denominational enclaves, according to the doctrinal viewpoints of their group, where praises from others flow freely. Such praises come from those who agree with the person and can make one feel so comfortable as to assume that God likewise approves of their spirituality. “How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44 NIV).
The praises that come from fellow humans serve only to cover and protect one’s dishonesty. This may be another reason Jesus instructed His followers to love their enemies instead of loving those who appear friendly (Matthew 5:43–44). Unknown to many, the most cherished blessing in Christianity should be persecution rather than praises from people.
There is truth in the fact that your enemies are the ones who keep you aware of your dishonesty, helping you to change. The praises that come from friends only harden one’s resolve to remain on the wrong trajectory. The way to God’s Kingdom requires honesty, displayed by truly loving one’s enemies—those who serve to reveal one’s hidden secrets. Such enemies may be like the messenger of Satan that Paul spoke about:
“Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:6–10 NIV).
God’s apostle delighted in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties rather than in the praises of those sympathizing with him. For honesty to remain alive in a person, whatever this world labels unacceptable should be treated as a blessing. The enemies of an individual should be viewed as best friends, keeping God’s servant honest. Friends and relatives, by contrast, should be regarded as the worst enemies for God’s servants, for they serve only to keep one under the delusion of being right with God.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilisation, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from the current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, relieving those who have witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions, leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book to be a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
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