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DAY 8
Integrity Is Everything
Character always trumps the bottom line. First Kings 9 records God's appearance to King Solomon after he completed the huge project of building God's Temple. God stressed the need for Solomon to walk in integrity. His future success would hinge on it.
1 Kings 9:3-7
The Lord said to him:
"I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
"As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father' …
"But if you or your sons turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples."
In Business Terms
It cost me a lot of money in a bad investment to learn that in leadership, character is more important than intelligence. I had mistakenly put intelligence above character. Intelligence is important, but character is more important. One of America's wealthiest investors said at Harvard that the three qualities he looks for in those in whom he will invest are character, intelligence, and energy.
Character is so important because it cannot be fully evaluated but will fail at the time when we can least afford it. It is almost impossible to buttress weak character.
My experience has brought me to a controversial belief about character: Character is sectionalized like a grapefruit, not homogeneous like a bottle of milk. When we say a person has a strong character, we assume that his character is of one piece of cloth. I have not found this true. Some people who are totally honest in business are hypocritical in personal life. Some are trustworthy in one section of their life and untrustworthy in another. I've always been intrigued by the story that Willie Sutton, the bank robber, cried when he had to lie to his mother about where he was.
— Fred Smith
Something to Think About
Ability will get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.
— John Wooden
Character Check
In which areas of my life do I have integrity? In which areas do I lack it?
Published by 90 Days in the Word for Business Professionals
Copyright© 1999 Christianity Today International
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