Having been a leader for a little while, there is something by which I now judge other leaders. That is their integrity.

Integrity, if you were to look it up, is to be whole or unimpaired, not to be compromised. Looking at it from the perspective of a leader it means, “Do you do the same things in the dark as you do in the light?” Or in the words of Blackaby, author of a book called Spiritual Leadership, “Integrity means being consistent in one’s behavior under every circumstance, including those unguarded moments.”

Wow, I bet many of us would have a hard time answering that honestly. I would have to say there are some things that I still struggle with that I would not want others to know about.

Here’s one of the hardest but most rewarding things, though, if you are a Spiritual Leader. God will very strongly let you know what it is that you are to be working on. He makes you very aware of what it is that you wouldn’t want others to know about. And once He does that, because you work for Him, He wants those things gone. Which means for you, the spiritual leader, that your mind does not take a break when you are alone. These are the unguarded moments.

Ungaurded moments…I hate them sometimes but then sometimes I love them. They tell me where I am at with God. If I have not been spending the time with Him it is a hard fight. When I am near to Him it’s a cake-walk.

So in saying that, I guess we have to say that for the Spiritual Leader there is no way to have great integrity unless you stand on God, not yourself.

In the dark? No problem, because God is all about being the light!

“He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity.” Proverbs 2:7

-Jody