Are You Able to Carry Your Load? | Integrity Part 2
How often do you hear the word Integrity? It is not a word people spend much time thinking about. How do we define it? Integrity is “firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values.” Integrity is about doing the right thing even when it’s not acknowledged by others, or convenient for you, especially when nobody is watching you. I once read that a person with Integrity is the antidote to self-interest. There are countless examples of Integrity in everyday life, as there were more than 5 million sources on Google.
11 “By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me. 12 And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face forever.” Psalms 41:11-12 KJV
When my dad and I started in business together one of the driving motivations was to bring Integrity to our industry. Back in the late 1970s, major ethical failures, and builders had a poor reputation (deservedly so in many instances).
In construction, we often speak of “structural integrity.” All the components are designed with a “useful lifetime” or “service life.” Structural Integrity is the ability of a structure to withstand its intended loading without failing due to fracture, deformation, or fatigue. When properly designed the components will not fail. Are we designing our Integrity to avoid failure?
To construct an item with structural Integrity, an engineer must first consider a material’s mechanical properties, such as toughness, strength, weight, hardness, and elasticity, and then determine the size and shape necessary to withstand the desired load for long life. Since members can neither break nor bend excessively, they must be stiff and tough. A very stiff material may resist bending, but unless it is sufficiently tough, it may have to be very large to support a load without breaking. On the other hand, a highly elastic material will bend under a load even if its high toughness prevents fracture.
Let us examine ourselves:
- Will my Integrity last my useful life?
- Do I bend excessively?
- Do I break when stress is applied?
- Are you tough enough to go the distance?
- In your moments of stress, where do you turn?
- With your current Integrity will you be useful for your entire “Service Life?”
Integrity in the verse above means completeness and is used many times in the Old Testament. Are our lives designed with the same diligence and focus as structure?
“The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he would never be found out.” – Thomas Macauley
Seeking to live in His reflection,
Jerry
