In addition to the seven main classical virtues of the Christian tradition, there is at least one other Christian virtue that is vitally important for Christians to develop: integrity. Integrity means being honest, being consistent, being true to one’s convictions, and being true to who you are. For Christians, of course, “being true to who you are” does not mean being true to one’s inner feelings and desires; it means being true to the identity one has been given in Christ.
“I am the way and the truth and the life,” says Jesus (John 14:6). Jesus is the Truth Incarnate. For Christians, it is Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God, who shows us what the truth is, about God, about the world, and about ourselves. Though Jesus is not currently physically present with us, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth (John 14:17, 15: 26, 16:13; I John 4:6, 5:6) is with us to guide us in the truth. In His high priestly prayer, Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). God’s word and God’s Spirit show us what truth really is, and it is by this truth that we are formed into God’s holy people.
Our postmodern world has redefined “truth” as something merely subjective, an expression of one’s own inner desires and feelings about the world. In the gospel of Jesus Christ, though, we are confronted with an objective Truth outside of ourselves. Our subjective feelings, desires, and opinions must give way in light of this truth. Only the Truth can set us free (John 8: 32), free from our own falsehoods which enslave us and prevent us from living genuinely good and worthwhile human lives.
We live in a world of lies. God’s word tells us that the Devil, the “father of lies” (John 8:44) is the god of this age (II Cor 4:4). The kingdoms of this world perpetuate themselves through lies and murder. This is just as true today as it was in the first century. In order to maintain power, comfort, and security, human societies constantly use lies and suppress the truth. We fear to honestly seek the truth because the truth is so often inconvenient. Very often, people even come to believe their own lies.
As disciples of Truth Incarnate, Christians must be agents of resistance to the lies of the world. We must always be people of the truth. We must fearlessly seek the truth, expose the lies of the world, and, perhaps most importantly, rid ourselves of self-deception.
“LORD, who may live in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?” asks the psalmist, “The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander. . . who keeps an oath even when it hurts” (Psalm 15: 1-4). As God’s holy people, the very temple of the living God, the church must be a community of truth, whose members are consistently honest, trustworthy, and true to their word. Christians must be completely devoted to Jesus the Truth Incarnate, and refuse to give the father of lies any foothold in their lives. Everyone is honest when being honest is convenient. But Christians must be true to their word, even when it is inconvenient, indeed, even if they must suffer deeply for it. It is this which is the true sign of the virtue of integrity.
At the most basic level, having integrity means that Christians are forbidden to lie. “Each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body” (Eph 4:25). Now, there might be extraordinary, extreme circumstances in which it is permissible for a Christian to lie. For example, it might be permissible to lie in order to mislead someone with murderous intent away from their intended victim. But this would be an exception that proves the rule. In almost all circumstances, Christians must be honest, refusing to lie, deceive, or cheat.
Having integrity, though, means much more than not lying. It means being consistent and truthful in the way we live our lives as a whole. In the modern world more than ever, it is easy for human beings to live fragmented lives which lack consistency. We get pulled in different directions and become different people in different times and places. Christians are not immune to this. But, as people whose lives have become centered in the truth of the Gospel, Christians must strive to have every aspect of their lives become shaped by this truth, to “take captive every thought [and action] to make it obedient to Christ” (II Cor 10:5).
This is what the pursuit of Christian virtue is ultimately about: having the concrete details of our lives become consistent with the identity we have been given in Christ. This is a lifelong process of striving, with God’s help, to shape our habits so that we might develop a more Christlike character. Being conformed to the image of Truth Incarnate means that, in every aspect of our lives, we become people of wisdom, justice, self-control, courage, love, faith, hope, and, of course, integrity.