Integrity matters

The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.  2 Samuel 8:6 and 14

We don’t find this easy to understand, do we? The brutality of it all. Philistines, Moabites, the people of Zobah, Edom, Amalek and the Ammonites – kings defeated, people slaughtered, horses hamstrung, chariots captured, gold plundered, lands invaded…….could this be a justification for all the terrible news stories that fill our screens? I think not. This was God’s plan of action for a particular time and a particular place – a plan that we cannot understand but may have brought about an ultimate level of peace that would prevent further and more widespread bloodshed, a plan to end the fighting in the region…….

David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people.  2 Samuel 8:15

This is key. Doing what is just and right matters. Every minute of every day.

During my trip to the Walmart Associates Week last week, the individuals who received the most recognition and celebration were the winners of the Act with Integrity Awards. The UK winner Sue Ryles was in my group and I got to know her pretty well. She was an ordinary colleague just getting on with her job, who noticed something that rang alarm bells and was prepared to pursue it and do something about it.

Sue Ryles – Dalgety Bay, Fife
Sue over her time at Asda has been colleague of the month on several occasions. Her base department at the moment is Click & Collect. Whilst processing orders earlier in the year, Sue noticed that orders were coming through with cigarettes and perfume which she thought were suspicious. She took the order out to the customer and noticed that he had a laptop, iPad and mobile phone all connected up on the front seat of the car and still uncertain about the order, asked if an email could be sent to Pauline Duncan with her concerns. She was able to give a description of the customer and the car. It is now an ongoing national investigation so far uncovering fraud up to the value of £250,000.

When she had the privilege of introducing one of the Walmart executive onto the stage, she had to say ‘My name is Sue and I do the right thing’ – simple but true. I wonder how many of us can say that every day.

Integrity is fundamental to a massive company like Walmart. They have to be able to trust in the integrity of their colleagues. To be able to claim to be Britain’s most trusted retailer, Asda relies on the integrity of all its colleagues. In countries across South America, this is a massive issue, where corruption has often become the norm. It’s maybe less so here, but still, there are opportunities to do the right thing all the time and how often do we ignore them and hope they will just go away?

If integrity is key to the life of a giant retailer, how much more important should it be to the people of God? Integrity is about honesty and fairness; impartiality and not having favourites; being trusted to keep promises; being reliable and always giving of our best; standing up for what is right; courage to speak out; always speaking the truth without exaggeration; resisting gossip and rumours……the list goes on and on and on…..

Acting with integrity is a challenge – today and everyday.

We may not win an award, but being a person of integrity brings its own rewards – it’s just as much a part of living life to the full as running into the sea shouting with joy on a hot day!