SOME THOUGHTS ON INTEGRITY

One of my favorite axioms about integrity is: “All teabags look alike until you put them in hot water.” It’s a reminder that integrity isn’t always seen at first, but it’s revealed in a person’s life over time and through circumstances. Anyone can be a person of integrity when life and its choices are easy, but when life is challenging and the choices are complex, our true integrity is revealed in the heat of the moment.

Solomon spoke of one of the many benefits of integrity in Proverbs:

“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely.” (Proverbs 10:9)

A description of integrity includes words like character, honesty, truthfulness, decency, righteousness and trustworthiness. Who wouldn’t want to be described with these words?

The Bible devotes little space to Hananiah, but it nicely summarizes his character.

“I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do. (Nehemiah 7:2).

A reputation like that is hard to earn. What does your reputation reveal about your integrity? Are you known for your character, honestly, truthfulness and decency? Do your words and actions reflect righteousness and trustworthiness? Do you revere God more than most?

I recently read about a professor who told his students, “I am giving two tests today: one is trigonometry and the other is integrity. I hope you pass them both. But if you have to fail one, fail trigonometry. There are many good people who cannot pass trigonometry. But there are no good people who cannot pass integrity.”

I’m so grateful my mom and dad pounded the importance of integrity into me as a child and adolescent. They always told me. “Remember who you are and who you belong to.”  That meant I was Harold and Betty Jo Greenway’s son. I carried their name, and everything I said and did was a reflection of my family name. But more importantly, it was a reminder that I am a child of God. I was baptized as a child—set apart to be raised in the community of faith. It meant that I represented not only my family, but also God’s family. My integrity matters—even today!

Remember who you are and who you belong to, my friends!

Bishop Jeff Greenway

(Originally published on Bishop Greenway's Facebook page July 15, 2025)