Having Integrity
Opening Prayer
Mighty God, You are my Creator and Sustainer, my Help and my Guide. How great, how majestic, how wonderful You are!
Read PSALM 101
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
1 I will sing of your love and justice;
to you, Lord, I will sing praise.
2 I will be careful to lead a blameless life—
when will you come to me?
I will conduct the affairs of my house
with a blameless heart.
3 I will not look with approval
on anything that is vile.
I hate what faithless people do;
I will have no part in it.
4 The perverse of heart shall be far from me;
I will have nothing to do with what is evil.
5 Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret,
I will put to silence;
whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
I will not tolerate.
6 My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
the one whose walk is blameless
will minister to me.
7 No one who practices deceit
will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
will stand in my presence.
8 Every morning I will put to silence
all the wicked in the land;
I will cut off every evildoer
from the city of the Lord.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Integrity is “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles… the state of being whole and undivided” (dictionary definition). In his idealistic prayer for his personal and public life, David seeks integrity. Integrity is desperately needed today in personal lives and in public leadership.
People the world over look for integrity in their leaders. It must have been the same in the days of King David—and even if it wasn’t, David knew that God would look for it in his life. If, as many believe, this psalm was written by David as he came to the throne, it sets before us the promises he makes and the standards he sets for himself as he takes up the kingship.
God looks for integrity in the lives of all of his people. If I am called to be a leader in my church, my workplace or my home, these truths apply to me too. Indeed, the principles David sets out here apply to each one of us, however important or unimportant we might seem to be in the world’s eyes, and in every aspect of our lives.
David knows that the key to such a life is to have the Lord at the center, so the psalm begins with praise to God and meditation on his attributes (1) and ends with concern for the people of God (6–8). We too will be better citizens in this world as we bear in mind that we are first and foremost citizens of another. Verse 2 shows us that David will aim at nothing short of blamelessness and that he knows that this begins at home, not at the door of his workplace. Guarding his eyes (3) will help protect his heart (4), as will being careful about the company that he keeps (3,5,7). Furthermore, the fellowship of other faithful believers will be an invaluable aid to living in the way of perfection (6). The “every morning” of the last verse reminds us that these things will be his daily priority. They need to be ours too!
Apply
What makes an effective leader according to this psalm? What did Jesus have to say about leadership (cf. Luke 22:24–26)? In what ways are you a leader?
Closing prayer
Mighty God, I need Your help to meditate on Your mercy and justice and to be a person of integrity in all that I do and say.
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