“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.” Proverbs 11:3
Integrity is a straight line. It is a line that points to the truth. This is where integrity is part of true honesty. Like the needle on a compass that points to true north (most of the time 😉 ) honesty and integrity, which also insinuates an intact whole – such as the integrity of a vessel – always leads to the whole truth. This pleases God and also guides those who use it. If the needle on one’s compass is bent or the integrity of one’s ocean-going ship is compromised it will be very difficult to find one’s way to a safe harbor. Perversity and unfaithfulness (the crookedness of the treacherous), to follow this analogy, will cause the ship to flounder.
Lord, I also see – You must have revealed – the detriment of being ‘unfaithful to a spouse as well. I marvel at how you have that as a ready example before me… how when I am ‘wondering’ looking for ‘satisfaction’ elsewhere it brings anger, deceit, and a misaligned focus without me even realizing it… and if it weren’t for Your grace it would have destroyed me – it was in fact on the way. But you saved me! Praise Your Holy Name!! Spirit, You have worked marvelously in my mind! I praise You for all of this, to the glory of Jesus Christ, amen.