I have served as a hiring manager for more than 16 years. When interviewing potential candidates, the most important quality that I looked for in them was integrity. However, the perspective on integrity has changed in recent years. We seem to be living in a world where integrity is not defined as "doing the right thing", but rather "only occasionally doing the wrong thing, but never getting caught." Think about it. Who do you know that is using someone else's Netflix account, saying something bad about someone behind his or her back, or consistently showing up late to work because the boss never notices?
To be fair, there was only One who did the right thing all the time. The rest of us do the wrong things in varying degrees. Being human, having integrity doesn't have to mean you have completely eliminated all wrongdoing in your life. But, it should mean that you recognize and own your bad behavior and are simultaneously making adjustments to eliminate it. A person of integrity is like a diligent gardener. Though weeds continue to pop up among their crops, they are committed to rooting them out.
What is eroding integrity in our society is how we are desensitizing ourselves to the line between right and wrong. As a result, we tend to do as we please when the chance of getting caught is all but eliminated. This is a slippery slope because criminals act in a similar manner and eventually fall victim to justice. If left unchecked, our lust for selfish desires will slowly push the envelope until our behavior finds itself in the light.
Therefore, the battle for personal integrity is not won in the light, but in the darkness. If you wish to be viewed as a person of integrity by the world, you must learn the habit of integrity in the places where only you and God can see. When you find success there, you lay the foundation for the person the world will see.
Our fallen nature is selfishness. Without instruction and discipline, we will choose it every time. I believe that is why integrity is such an admirable human quality. Anyone who can undoubtedly claim it has definitely put in the work for it.
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