This is the second part of this article. if you missed the first path, here is the link to it

https://www.nairaland.com/1498231/integrity-way-forward-part-1



Misconceptions about Integrity

Many mistakes and misconceptions people make about the issue of integrity is that they believe it is meant for the Presidents, the Governors and the leaders in various establishments. If you are among those that think this way, you are so so wrong. To be a person of integrity you don’t need to be the President of a country, the Governor of a State or the Senate president. If you don’t have integrity when you are a class teacher you can never grow integrity overnight when you become the president of a nation. Integrity starts from the confine of our rooms where only few people watch you and through their corrections and nurture you become matured to take on the world.

The maturity I’m talking about is a function of your ability to say no and stand by it. Maturity is not about age and the numbers of years you have spent on earth. Many can be 60 years of age and through their actions you can’t but wonder whether a 16 years old baby has done what they just did. Because you say no doesn’t mean it is convenient but just because you want to crucify flesh and instant gratification for a more glorious reward. When you refuse the advances of the earthly pleasure even when it is not convenient then you have exhibited integrity.
This holding on to ones believe and not shifting ground for others to fulfil their earthly desires is because you have seen ahead and you know the rewards ahead cannot be compared to what you will get when you compromise your integrity. “By faith, Moses when grown refused the privileges of the Egyptians royal house. He chose a hard life with God’s people rather than an opportunistic soft life of sin with the oppressor. He valued suffering in the Messiah’s camp far greater than Egyptian wealth because he was looking ahead, anticipating the payoff...” (Heb. 11:24-28).

If you are a diligent person there is no way you won’t be blessed. It is not rocket science that we are attracted to what is good and positive. Take for instance a mechanic that fixes your car with substandard engine parts and he still charged you for the price of genuine ones. You don’t need an angel to tell you to run for your dear life immediately you discover his ingenuity. Then take another mechanic as example. This particular one does the same work perfectly but in this case he did the work with integrity without cutting corners. Naturally customers will flow to him and with more work in his hands, the bigger and better his pockets begin to grow. When this man begins to enjoy his blessings, he doesn’t need to look at his shoulder and worry about the consequence of his actions because “The blessings of the LORD makes rich, and he added no sorrow with it.” (Prov. 10:22)

Integrity start from being the ‘vulcanizer’ with integrity then the journey becomes smoother and easier and gradually other things begin to fall into place. Inasmuch as we impact our society positively with our actions on a daily basis, isn’t it worth satisfaction? Don’t just be a carpenter, be the carpenter that have integrity, don’t just be a policeman, be a policeman with a difference, don’t be the driver that see anything goes but be the taxi driver with integrity that see wrong in taking what doesn’t belong to him. In everything you find yourself doing, do it with all diligence because in no time you will reap the fruit of the seed sown.

A life void of Integrity

See, no matter how the affair of a thing is done, inasmuch as it wrong, it can never bring positive results. It is integrity that makes a man say “I will not be defiled by what is evil” and he stands by his words and he refuses it advances. Integrity is when no one is looking at you and you still do the right thing. You doing the right things aren’t just because they are right but because you are accountable to God first and then to men. Without integrity there can never be socio-Economic and political development. Things will remain the way they are, unemployment will increase, armed robbery and lawlessness will become the order of the day, favouritism and nepotism will be at its peak, vices and corruption will continue to blossom, poverty and hardship will continually take its toll on people and the way things are done will never change and we will continue seeing the same results.
The genesis of the problems we have in Nigeria and other nations of the earth can be easily traced to the decay we have with integrity. When we deviated from the status quo what should we expect. Why won’t the whole system be in shambles and in a state of confusion when we have left the right path and followed the wrong road? “Caution: the trap you set might catch you. Warning: your accomplice in crime might double-cross you” (Eccl. 10: