“Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusions; And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude]…”
Ephesians 4:22, 23[/font]
In the past, I defined integrity as merely telling the truth. I’ve come to understand integrity as something much more. Many of us think we have integrity. This may be true, but we need to make sure we understand integrity, first. On Dictionary.com (Integrity | What is the Definition of Integrity? | Dictionary.com), integrity is defined as following and putting to practice “moral or ethical principles”. The following definition is an example of the Bible’s definition of integrity. It was a definition I put together based on several scriptures. These scriptures will be available below the definition.
A Person who lives a life of integrity has characters such as honor, reverence and faith in the Lord. This person has humble, skillful and godly wisdom. When this person performs a task, he or she does it with a clear conscience, and, when they deal with other people, they speak the truth in love. They are blameless and persevere, and they always give freely and abundantly.
(Psalms 5:4; Psalms 26:1-5; Proverbs 11:2, 3; Matthew 5:41; Acts 23:1; Acts 24:16; Romans 9:1; 1 Corinthians 12:31; Philippians 1: 10, 11; I Timothy 1:5; I Timothy 1:19)
How does integrity influence the mind? Well, just like negative thoughts, lack of integrity is harmful to future successes. When we think about things that are dishonest, disgraceful, and corrupt, our actions follow suit. We are what we think, so we need to think honorable thoughts. When we habitually dwell on immoral or unethical things, we will begin to act immoral and unethical. One wrong thought won’t destroy our lives, but continuously allowing the mind to think wrong thoughts will lead to danger and an unsuccessful life.
In the above paragraph, the word habitually is used. The first part of this word is habit. We can actually make wrong thinking a habit before we realize anything is wrong. If we have allowed ourselves to slip into this wrong thinking, we need to admit the problem and address each immoral or unethical thought that comes into our mind. Following the other steps addressed above will help get our minds back on track. Once we have our thoughts under control, our actions will follow.
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
-Unknown
My challenge for our thoughts this week is to switch bad habits with good habits. The way to a successful, exciting life is through our thoughts. In Ephesians 4:22, 23, we wee that the Word of God encourages us to constantly renew our mind and attitude. When we use the techniques above, we teach and train our minds. If we teach and train our minds, we grow spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and socially. As we grow in all these areas, we get closer to the successful life God designed for each of us.
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.”
II Timothy 1:7
Ephesians 4:22, 23[/font]
In the past, I defined integrity as merely telling the truth. I’ve come to understand integrity as something much more. Many of us think we have integrity. This may be true, but we need to make sure we understand integrity, first. On Dictionary.com (Integrity | What is the Definition of Integrity? | Dictionary.com), integrity is defined as following and putting to practice “moral or ethical principles”. The following definition is an example of the Bible’s definition of integrity. It was a definition I put together based on several scriptures. These scriptures will be available below the definition.
A Person who lives a life of integrity has characters such as honor, reverence and faith in the Lord. This person has humble, skillful and godly wisdom. When this person performs a task, he or she does it with a clear conscience, and, when they deal with other people, they speak the truth in love. They are blameless and persevere, and they always give freely and abundantly.
(Psalms 5:4; Psalms 26:1-5; Proverbs 11:2, 3; Matthew 5:41; Acts 23:1; Acts 24:16; Romans 9:1; 1 Corinthians 12:31; Philippians 1: 10, 11; I Timothy 1:5; I Timothy 1:19)
How does integrity influence the mind? Well, just like negative thoughts, lack of integrity is harmful to future successes. When we think about things that are dishonest, disgraceful, and corrupt, our actions follow suit. We are what we think, so we need to think honorable thoughts. When we habitually dwell on immoral or unethical things, we will begin to act immoral and unethical. One wrong thought won’t destroy our lives, but continuously allowing the mind to think wrong thoughts will lead to danger and an unsuccessful life.
In the above paragraph, the word habitually is used. The first part of this word is habit. We can actually make wrong thinking a habit before we realize anything is wrong. If we have allowed ourselves to slip into this wrong thinking, we need to admit the problem and address each immoral or unethical thought that comes into our mind. Following the other steps addressed above will help get our minds back on track. Once we have our thoughts under control, our actions will follow.
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
-Unknown
My challenge for our thoughts this week is to switch bad habits with good habits. The way to a successful, exciting life is through our thoughts. In Ephesians 4:22, 23, we wee that the Word of God encourages us to constantly renew our mind and attitude. When we use the techniques above, we teach and train our minds. If we teach and train our minds, we grow spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and socially. As we grow in all these areas, we get closer to the successful life God designed for each of us.
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.”
II Timothy 1:7
