St. Augustine said that the confession of bad works is the beginning of good works.

If you are serious about becoming a person of integrity, the first step is to admit that you haven’t had integrity. You just admit that you don’t always keep your promises. You often gossip, and you like it. Sometimes you slack off at work. You pretend to be someone you’re not. Just admit it all to God!

A lot of people segment their lives and think they can live with integrity when they are harboring sin in one area of life as long as it doesn’t affect the other areas. I call this the Titanic myth. The Titanic was supposed to be unsinkable because it was the first ship to segment and compartmentalize the hull. Theoretically, if the boat took on water in a certain area, you could batten down the hatch, and it wouldn’t sink the whole ship.

But folks, when it comes to your life, a hole in the boat is a hole in the boat, and eventually it’s going to sink you. That little area you thought you had under control will eventually take you down. And it will affect the people around you, because while sin is personal, it is never private.

No one is perfect, but God doesn’t expect you to be perfect! He does, however, expect you to have integrity, and the starting point is to own up to your sins — no matter how long your list is.

God is more interested in your heart than your sins. You’re never going to be perfect. You’re never going to be sinless. But you can sin less.

That is the choice of integrity.

There’s only one way. You’ve got to care more about God’s approval than the approval of other people. That’s the only way you’ll ever become a person of integrity. Because if you care about what God thinks, then you’re going to do the right thing. If you care more about what other people think, you’re often going to do the wrong thing.

Psalm 119:9 says, “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word” (NIV).

The only way you’re going to know what God approves of and what he thinks of you is by reading the Bible. You must stay in God’s Word! If you don’t, you won’t have the strength and the stamina to live with integrity.

If I don’t have a daily quiet time with God in the Word, if I miss it for even a few days, I notice it — everyone notices it! — because I start getting cranky. If I don’t stay connected to God through his Word, I would not have any spiritual power to clearly explain the Word of God to you. I would not have the strength to live with integrity.

Living with integrity takes spiritual power, because what is right is often unpopular. You’re going to get tired trying to do the right thing and be real and keep the right motives, and you need to be equipped and refreshed.

You do that by reading and studying the Bible, God’s Word.

Do you want to be one of those people? We don’t talk a lot these days about being pure in heart, but we do use the word integrity. To have integrity does not mean you are perfect, because if it did, none of us would have it!

So, what does it mean to have integrity?

Integrity is wholeness.

A lot of people think of their life like a pie, and the different parts of their life are the pieces of the pie. This slice of the pie is my career. This is my work life. This is my spiritual life. Then this is my family life. That one is my social life. Then over here is my secret life — my compulsions, addictions, and the things nobody else knows about.

If you segment your life like that, you lack integrity, because your life is not a whole. Integrity means you’re the same person with everybody, in your speech, actions, and motives, no matter which part of life you’re dealing with.

Integrity is authenticity.

In ancient Greek culture, actors were referred to as hypocrites because they pretended to be someone else. It’s where we get the word hypocrite.

When you wear masks so that you appear one way in front of some people and another way for others, it shows a lack of authenticity. God wants you to be exactly who he made you to be, no matter who is watching.

Integrity is uncorrupted motivation.

It means you do the right thing, and you do it for the right reason. You have unmixed motivation and pure motives. You’re sincere and straightforward in every area of your life and with all people. You pray to talk to God and not to impress other people.

We’re interested in image, but God is interested in integrity. We’re interested in reputation, but God is interested in character. Reputation is what everybody thinks you are. Integrity is what you really are. Reputation is what you are in public. Integrity is what you are when you’re all alone with God.

“The Lord detests people with crooked hearts, but he delights in those with integrity” (Proverbs 11:20 NLT).