Purity and Integrity

Purity and Integrity

The focus word for today is ‘Purity & Integrity’.


The focus verse for today is Matthew 5:8 says, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.’

Our declaration is ‘My heart is pure before God; integrity establishes my life on a foundation of holiness.’


God Looks first At The Heart

Man looks at the physical appearance at first, but God looks at our hearts first. Sometimes, we can decipher a person’s thoughts based on their body language and physical expressions. However, that can be misleading too where their thoughts and actions could be two very different things. God can see through our hearts.

God never said blessed are the most impressive people or the ones that are most charismatic. Instead God says, blessed are those pure in hearts. Purity begins internally before it appears externally. It’s always inside first, then outside.

1 Samuel 16:7 says, ‘ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”’

Psalms 51:10 says, ‘Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.’

Psalms 51:10 is a prayer from David’s heart after he indulges in an extra-marital affair with Bethsaida and kills her husband in order to secure her. However, despite his wrong doing, he goes back to God, confesses his sin and cries out to the Lord with a guilty heart. This is when David wrote this Psalm. Sin separates us from God’s presence even if we are born again. As soon as you indulge in sin, it creates an immediate rift with God and we may start to slowly distance ourselves from God’s presence. When this happens we must consciously with our hearts build back this connection and back to his presence.

Proverbs 4:23 says, ‘Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.’

Everything flows from our heart, that is where it all begins, so it’s important to guard your heart. The condition of the heart shapes the direction of life. Many water bodies originate from the top of the mountain and flow down below. If the water at the source is pure and clean, then the water that flows below will also emulate those qualities. A healthy source produces healthy flow.

Integrity Means Wholeness, Not Double Living
Integrity is consistency in character without double living. For instance, there are so many people around us who seem astute and blemishless in their public life, but seem to have a completely different personality at home. A person without such a conflict in their lives is one with integrity. Their words and actions are consistent.

Psalms 15:1-2 says, ‘1 Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? 2 The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart;’

A person whose thoughts, words and actions are consistent, is a person with integrity and is called an upright man.

Titus 2:7 says, ‘In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness’

2 Corinthians 8:21 says, ‘ For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of man.’

Integrity removes hidden fractures from character. Just like gold ores that are refined to extract pure gold, a man is also refined to remove the fractures in his heart to make it pure. However, it is a much more tedious process to purify a man’s heart than gold and the only one who can do this is, is the Holy Spirit. As the name suggests, the Holy Spirit is ‘Holy’. As the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we are purified and sanctified. Jesus uses many agents in our lifetime to sanctify us, it could be the people around us, the situations and trials that we face.

Purity Creates Spiritual Clarity

God says, the pure in heart will see him. We can only see and experience God through our spiritual eyes. Sin clouds our perception. However, purity sharpens our spiritual sensitivity.

Hebrews 12:14 says, ‘Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.’

James 4:8 says, ‘Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.’

Psalms 19:8 says, ‘The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.’

Purity helps us discern God’s voice and direction more clearly. More often than not, we bring impurity in our lives through our own actions and this sinful nature blurs our spiritual clarity and vision. With the purity that is brought in us through the Holy Spirit our spiritual clarity also sharpens.

Integrity Builds Lasting Trust

People may admire talent, but they trust only a person with integrity. A person might be a good orator, a singer or an impressive businessman even, but in order to trust them, they should show integrity in their words and actions. We should always ask ourselves, ‘are we trustworthy?’

Proverbs 10:9 says, ‘Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.’

Luke 16:10 says, ‘“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.’

Colossians 3:9-10 says, ‘9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.’

Integrity creates credibility over time. Guard your inner life today, because what is inside you is what will show on the outside over time. Do not pursue outward success while neglecting inward purity. Choose sincerity over performance. Choose holiness over compromise. Holiness and purity are the most important characteristics that we must chase after. If you are pure and holy, you will also be someone of integrity.