{"id":15110,"date":"2007-05-01T14:57:57","date_gmt":"2007-05-01T14:57:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/2007\/05\/01\/may2007\/"},"modified":"2007-05-01T14:57:57","modified_gmt":"2007-05-01T14:57:57","slug":"may2007","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/may2007\/","title":{"rendered":"Integrity"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.<\/em> Colossians 1:17<\/span><\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Our lives are complicated, and many demands divide out hearts. this is the essence of the integrity problem: We are people with divided hearts.<\/p>\n\n

A large portion of our hearts is dedicated to being successful at work and in our relationships. Other parts are devoted to dreams for the future and hurts of the past. Still another part is devoted to Jesus Christ. We would love to give him more, but we must confront the fact that there are few compartments left over.<\/p>\n\n

Each compartment has a different set of rules, and we conduct ourselves differently at different times depending on which part of our heart we are satisfying. This is why outwardly moral people so immoral things in private. This is also why we think we need to be aggressive in the workplace but loving and tender at home or at church. And this is why we live with secrets we hope will never come to light.<\/p>\n\n

Moving from one compartment of life to another, we enter different worlds where we hold different identities, each wanting to grow and hold sway over our hearts. After a while our hearts tear apart because of the competition, and the walls that divide the compartments start to break down. It is at this point that people start to leave their families, churches, and their faith, saying, “I can’t keep living a lie.” The problem is, they’re lying to themselves if they think they can heal their hearts on their own.<\/p>\n\n

The message of the gospel is that a divided heart can be repaired, though not by ourselves. Then we confront that truth, we discover the deeper truth of God’s power that transforms every part of the heart, the power that breaks down those competing little worlds and unites our souls in the integrity of serving our Savior.<\/p>\n\n

—M. Craig Barnes<\/p>\n\n

Reflection<\/h2>\n

How would it change your life if you had to do everything in public? Even more sobering is the fact that everything we do is done in front of God.<\/p> \n\n

Prayer<\/h2>\n

Oh, God, in the course of my life I have carved up so much of my heart that there is previous little to give to you. So I ask that you will find all of the pieces I have given away and bind them together again with a deep love for Christ, my Savior.<\/p>\n\n

\n

“Integrity is keeping my commitment even if the circumstances when I made the commitment have changed.”<\/em>
\n

—David Jeremiah, pastor, authot, and speaker<\/p><\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Leadership DevotionsCopyright © Tyndale House Publishers.Used by permission.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our lives are complicated, and many demands divide out hearts. this is the essence of the integrity problem: We are people with divided hearts. A large portion of our hearts is dedicated to being successful at work and in our relationships. Other parts are devoted to dreams for the future and hurts of the past. Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"tax_ctp_authors":[1174],"tax_ctp_books":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[154],"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory":[],"tax_ctp_field_guides":[],"tax_ctp_format":[131],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[156],"tax_ctp_tags":[3458,3559,4264,4275,5256],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-15110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tax_ctp_authors-craig-barnes","tax_publications-leadership-journal","tax_ctp_tags-authenticity","tax_ctp_tags-character","tax_ctp_tags-integrity","tax_ctp_tags-intimacy","tax_ctp_tags-vulnerability"],"acf":{"scripture_references":null},"yoast_head":"\nIntegrity - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The "God compartment".\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/may2007\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Integrity - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The "God compartment".\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/may2007\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CTPastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2007-05-01T14:57:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2025\/12\/ogimage.png?resize=1200,628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"M. 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