Preserving Integrity: A Secret To Living Your Life's Mission

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the importance of preserving integrity–the ability to remain uncorrupted no matter what happens. Little compromises and small allowances can result in big regrets. In hindsight, we can easily list the obvious enemies of integrity: greed, lust, dishonesty, lying, and the like. But is that all? Is wrongdoing the only thing that threatens integrity? It is likely that for each regret you carry, there is a matching fault of integrity.

Wrongdoing is not integrity’s lone foe.

Life happens, and when our healthy rhythms are affected, we become vulnerable. You may not be an unfaithful spouse, but if your marriage has descended to hostility and dullness, it has become a burden, not a blessing. You may not be dishonest, but if your job doesn't inspire you to produce, you may be tempted to give your attention to distractions to "kill time." Things like fatigue, grief, disappointment, and hopelessness can affect you to the point of losing your integrity. It’s not that you become deceitful or disloyal, but you can certainly become discouraged and demotivated and fall short in fulfilling your purpose. The downturn starts with the little things; the small disciplines that can yield long-term results are overlooked. Then a persisting low-grade frustration sets in and disturbs our inner-peace. That’s when some of those small cracks on the foundation can begin to grow. Soon, you'll be busy with nothingness. Working, moving, and maybe even making money, but far away from your life's mission.

Matthew penned this short story recounting what took place when he was walking with Jesus and his friends one morning:

And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. — Matthew 21:19 ESV

It says in Mark that the tree was “in leaf”. That means, it was the season for figs, yet this tree was not living its purpose. Jesus’s command is worthy of our attention. The lesson is: that which has lost its integrity loses its purpose, and is as good as dead.

I love this quote from John Maxwell:

“Integrity commits itself to character over personal gain, to people over things, to service over power, to principle over convenience, to the long view over the immediate.”

We should work hard to make sure the integrity of our mission is preserved.

Times change, methods change, life happens. There are uncontrollable events and circumstances, but it would be wise for you to preserve the integrity of your life’s mission. Jesus stated his life’s mission as follows: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

You may scour the Scriptures trying to find one moment in which the integrity of Jesus’s mission was corrupted. You won’t find it. Whether you believe in Jesus or not, there is no denying He was effective.

It is immeasurably sad to see someone who, after having lived their whole life, looks back and deems they were ineffective in fulfilling their life’s mission; like that fig tree, they may be full of leaves, but they have no fruit. May that not be you! Preserve the integrity of your life’s mission.

If you are still reading and you are unsure of your life’s mission, here is a roadmap to it: Start by looking at your hands, not your heart. It is popular to say follow your heart! and people mean well. But our heart is deceitful. If you don't believe me, simply search for "American Idol Auditions" on YouTube, and watch some of the early ones with Simon Cowell. It is better to first look at your hands. It is your talents and abilities that will make room for your life’s mission. After you have mastered your talent enough, pair it with your desire to help others and make the world better. Remain true to that. Preserve that. You were made for a purpose, and you have a mission to accomplish.

Life brings a lot of wear and tear; disappointment, unmet expectations, and loss can corrupt your commitment to your life’s mission. Preserving integrity will help you go the distance and make you effective to the end.