In this issue we continue our project of understanding what it takes for a church to become a healthy biblical community by looking at integrity. How do we understand such an abstract trait?

One day I stopped behind another car at a traffic light. First, I noticed its bumper sticker which read gushingly: Life is terrific. Business is great. People are wonderful.

Then I looked inside the car and saw, in stark contrast, a not-so-blissful marital moment. I couldn’t hear his angry outburst, but I could see the back of the driver’s head as it bobbed up and down in cadence with whatever scolding words he was hurtling in the direction of an absolutely rigid passenger, presumably his wife.
I thought, Life is terrific, huh? People are wonderful? Right. Buddy, your behavior doesn’t match your bumper sticker.

That episode illustrates my definition of integrity. Integrity is when your behavior matches your bumper sticker. In order to maintain integrity, the guy in the car had to either simmer down and focus on his wife’s “wonderful” attributes, or quickly get out of his car while the light was still red and scrape the bumper sticker off with his fingernails. Either way it’s hard work.

Of course, the preferred approach to integrity is not to peel away bumper stickers but instead, to act in accordance with them. That’s a challenging task that requires a strong commitment to follow three basic steps:

Pay Attention to Your Bumper Stickers
Too often we are too late in recognizing when we’ve plastered on a bumper sticker for everyone to read. We say, “I’ll be there at 6:00” — and we show up at 6:15. But our bumper sticker reads: I show up when I say I will. The behavior doesn’t match the bumper sticker.

Then there are bumper stickers that get applied based on what our words imply. For example, we say, “I’m grateful for all my co-workers,” but those around us interpret that to mean we are committed to a bumper sticker that reads: I express gratitude personally and frequently. If we only say “thank you” once in a blue moon or on formal occasions it appears to them that we aren’t really all that grateful. Our behavior doesn’t match our bumper sticker.

Examine your life day by day, making sure your behavior matches the promises and claims you make. It’s what the Bible calls “walking circumspectly.”

Bar the Back Door of Escape
The story is told of President John F. Kennedy visiting the Alamo to make a speech. He was on a tight schedule and knew he would have to make a hasty departure. Not wanting to get waylaid by crowds of guests and reporters, he turned to his aide and asked, “Where’s the back door?” To which his aide replied, “Mr. President, if the Alamo had a back door we wouldn’t be celebrating any heroes.”

This aide understood that even many heroes would have taken a back door of escape if there had been one.

We can use this fact of human nature to our advantage in our quest to become people of integrity. We can figure out ways to bar the back door of escape from commitments. That’s partly what a wedding ceremony is supposed to be about — a public expression of undying love and loyalty between two people in front of a company of family and friends. It adds the dimension of potential embarrassment and shame should either of the party ever break their vows.

In similar fashion, we can ask ourselves, What can I do that will make it harder for me back out? People who pursue integrity make it tough on themselves to be anything less than what their bumper stickers say.

Surround Yourself with People of Integrity
It is impossible to overestimate the influence of models of integrity. When we are around people who always keep their word, who practice what they preach, whose behavior matches their bumper stickers — we tend to be more keenly aware of integrity issues.

When a friend stops in mid-sentence and says, “No, wait a minute. I think I’m exaggerating on this point,” I am reminded and spurred on to be very careful not to exaggerate when I pass on information.

When someone says, “I’d like to participate in the church missions trip, but let me pray about it for a few days and see if I get a green light to go,” that reinforces my own desire to have my decision-making behavior match my bumper sticker that says: I want to do only what God wants me to do.

As you read this issue of Light and Life, think of the articles we’ve included as a group of friends spurring you on to become a person of integrity. Ultimately, the only way for the church to become a “healthy biblical community” is to be a collection of people whose behavior matches their bumper stickers.