The Big Question of Integrity

And so I remember while in camp, when I opened this mint from the sachet, took it and then just threw the sachet on the camp ground. Okay no I didn't "just" throw it. You will understand why soon.

Many define the subject of integrity as "the quality of doing the right thing even when no one is watching or looking". I think the definition is simple and encompassing of all one needs to digest with the subject of integrity. It's that quality that will make you see what to do and do it—or what not to do and not do it—even when there are no eyes on you. In a sense, you could say integrity is the opposite of what we call "eye service". This is when one does something only with the sole purpose or aim of gaining some sort of rewards—be it accolades, recognition, promotion and so on.

It's a crooked and perverse world we're in. Sadly, that's the reality even if we don't wish to admit it as so. As such, it will be wise for anyone to cultivate the character, virtue, quality and life of integrity. Guess why? This is because people are searching for reliable individuals they can entrust with something to manage, work or take care of. Trust me, no one will pick one who lacks integrity. But if then that's the case; that men are in search of people with integrity for good measures, why is everyone not striving towards being one?

Okay, I'll tell you why. Like in my first statement in this post, where I pointed out an incidence that occured in camp, integrity can be a hard, difficult and impossible thing to do. Or rather, something we don't want to do because to look away from the right thing is easy. Like I said, I didn't just throw the mint sachet. What occured was that I held the sachet for some time, knowing well that throwing it down like that wasn't the honourable thing to do. However, I threw it. I guess it's easier to be dishonourable than being upright.

^Meanwhile...
What happened after was the remarkable thing. A nice young lady tapped me and politely asked why I had to just drop the sachet on the floor like that. I was lost for words at the moment. All I could say trying to make funny the situation was that I was going to pick it, let her not worry. Well, she insisted. It was kind of amazing to me. She went ahead to remind of the scripture in the book of James that says, "he who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it sins". Mind you, before she quoted that scripture, I had affirmed that I wasn't initially willing to throw it on the floor but somehow I just did. I tell you, that hit me hard.

It was a kind of hilarious scenario, one that ended with us smiling about the incidence. But a remarkable lesson stuck with me that day till today, I learnt to continue holding on to the virtue of integrity. You see, the misconception is that integrity will show up well in big situations. Wrong! The small situations that we tend to succumb to will ultimately empower us to do same when the big situations come. Funny enough, I don't recklessly throw away mint sachet again. If it means keeping it in my pocket till I get a proper place to dispose it, I do. That's for a small thing, but it's building towards a bigger thing I know.

Integrity is encompassing of many virtues. When you think of honesty, transparency, reliability, truth, decorum, impartiality, and almost every positive virtue, they are all branches on the tree known as integrity. The things that seem as nothing but are wrong should seem as really something to us. That's the building block of integrity. If only people will rise to be men and women of integrity, a lot of life's unfortunate situations will slowly diminish. And so the big question is, "will you stand as a person of integrity even in a perverse and carefree world?"

Images are mine

Thank you for reading through!