The Importance of Integrity

My family rewatched the movie Courageous on Saturday night. (Just in case you haven't seen it, it's really good and you definitely should!!)

What I really wanted to talk to you today about was one of the bits in the movie when Javier Martinez, one of the characters in the movie, gets offered a promotion. The conditions of the promotion are such that he gets more responsibility, gets paid more (he and his family are really struggling financially in the movie) but he has to be dishonest on his report about the number of crates that come into the warehouse.
His dilemma is this: does he do what his boss wants and report dishonestly and get the promotion he needs so badly, or does he do what is right and tell his boss he won't report dishonestly and risk losing his job?

In the end he decides to do the right thing and his boss tells him he was being tested all along to see whether he would be a man of integrity because they needed a man of integrity in that promoted position. So Javier Martinez gets promoted and it all ends happily ever after. :)

But here's the thing: What would you do?

Would you act honestly or dishonestly? Would you risk losing your job and act honestly, or would you try to get a needed promotion and just change one figure slightly?

It's a hard question, isn't it. But an important one. Because integrity is important. We need to do the right thing no matter what the cost.

God values integrity-

Jeremiah 5:1
Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city.

If Jeremiah could find one person who dealt honestly and sought the truth, God would forgive the entire city. Surely that shows that integrity and honesty and truthfulness is important to Him! 

And if integrity and honesty are important to God, surely they should be important to us?