Genesis 6:6–8 “And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”
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Circumstances should not determine your behavior,
but God’s commands should dictate your steps.
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One winter a low-paid waiter in a major city found a briefcase containing cash and negotiables in a parking lot—and no owner in sight. No one saw the waiter find it and put it in his car in the wee hours of the morning. But for the waiter, there was never any question of what to do. He took the briefcase home, opened it, and searched for the owner's identity. The next day he made a few phone calls, located the distressed owner, and returned the briefcase—along with the $25,000 cash it contained.
The surprising thing about this episode was the ridicule the waiter experienced at the hands of his friends and peers. For the next week or so he was called a variety of names and laughed at, all because he possessed a quality the Bible holds in high regard: integrity.
The world laughs at integrity. Choosing between something beneficial and integrity seems to be a no-brainer to most people—choose whatever best helps you. If you have to lie to advance yourself, that’s just part of the game. If you forge something to help someone else, you did a great thing. Few people today value integrity.
Integrity can be described as doing what’s right even when no one is watching. When you’re alone at home, when you’re filling out a form, when you find someone else’s wallet; what is the right thing to do?
Noah was a man of integrity. As Genesis 6:5 says, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” The world was filled with wickedness, so much so that God had decided to destroy the earth.
But one man still walked in integrity despite his surroundings, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” Genesis 6:8. Even though everyone was doing wrong and even though he was tempted to give in to sin, Noah found grace in the sight of the Lord. He did what was right no matter what. Noah was not a perfect man, but he walked with the Lord and chose integrity over wickedness.
As a Christian, God desires that you would, like Noah, choose integrity over wickedness. No matter who is around or what everyone else is doing, God desires you to choose what is right. Circumstances should not determine your behavior, but God’s commands should dictate your steps.
Are you walking in integrity today? Do you decide to obey God even when no one’s around? Determine today that no matter what others say or who is watching, you will choose to obey God. Remember that even if man isn’t watching, God is always watching your actions.
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