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Appendix 1S; Behavioral Integrity​

Behavioral character integrity is a phrase used to describe the expectation that a person will live by his word. When you are described as someone whose "walk matches your talk", your attitude and behavior reflect your declared values and beliefs whether you are acting alone or in public, regardless of the worldly consequences. Others can depend on you to do what you say because of a repeated pattern of this cognitively consistent behavior called character integrity. It is a favorable personality trait because it makes you and those around you feel secure. It's when beliefs vary from behavior that makes you feel anxious and you earn a reputation from others as _______________ .  

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Uncomfortable feelings do arise in everyone and emotions intensify in correlation to the amount of time the problem remains unresolved and repeated. Frustration may turn into anger/depression or stress may turn into paralyzing anxiety or a deeper relative reality. Researcher Gawronski, B. (2012) says that you and all humans have an instinctive need for consistency between your thoughts, your beliefs and values, and your actions taken. For example, conflict may take place between your body and mind when you set a goal to maintain your ideal weight. Or it could be that you want something but if you decide to go after it, you'd be making a short-term decision that caves into instant gratification and will likely sabotage your goals.

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The good news about these uncomfortable feelings is that your spirit or soul or body is generating a signal to alert you to a decision point. It alerts you by a feeling so that you become aware of it and decide what to do with it. In ideal circumstances, you would take the time to make an intentional decision and resolve the issue. But this doesn't automatically happen. When the reason for this uncomfortable feeling isn't obvious, or when it feels too painful to address, or it's too complicated to iron out, or you think if you act consistently with your values, you’ll be rejected by the social crowd, you may look for a quick resolution to this tension by trying to dull and/or deny these feelings. The bad news is that doing this suppresses the root cause and makes the choice of the solution ineffective. The evidence of that is seen in bad habits repeating themselves. If there isn't an intentional decision to break into the automacy of the brain and slow it down, then the root cause solution never gets enacted and the truth gets buried, creating anxiety that grows worse with time earning a reputation as unpredictable (Romans 1:24, 2 Corinthians 7:9-10, Proverbs 14:12, John 17:17, 1 Corinthians 2:4, 1 John 3:18). 

  • Do you let hat a little agitation from the social club deter you from doing the right thing?

  • A mature faith acts in line with their beliefs, regardless of the consequences. Read about Old Testament men like Joseph and Daniel that showed loyalty to God by implementing His principles throughout their life, despite their secular surrounding (Genesis 37, 39-41:41, 42:1-2, 45:3-5, Daniel 1, 3, 6).  

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​Whether you are consistently at peace or anxious and whether you operate with a relative reality or an absolute Truth perspective is an indicator of the quality of your character integrity. And the quality of your character integrity determines your anxiety level. The relationship is a function of your choices and what you do with the feedback you get. If based on the crowd, you are more likely to have high anxiety and less likely to character integrity, but if feedback is based on the Truth as revealed in the Holy Bible, your likely to have peace from the results of high character integrity to God's standards. The moral value ascribed to your character integrity is determined by the merit of who you selected as your higher authority in life and how well you follow the Truth despite popular cultural beliefs.

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When you decide to live by the values in Christianity and use it to solve your problems, your Christian character integrity results in a peace that no one can alter (Philippians 4:7). The more you want to and actually do express the Spirit of the Lord in your behavior (a function of your free will, more in Appendix 1U), the more inner peace and commitment you will have. It's important to understand that when you apply the values of Christianity to your mindset, actions will come out in proportion to your prioritization of God in your life. When your walk matches the talk of what you have learned about Christianity, you have Christian behavioral integrity, NOT PERFECTION. Feeling secure as a Christian is not about doing everything right; it's about knowing God's character integrity is within you, specifically, knowing that you are loved and forgiven and are a child of God. ​As a Christian, your behavioral integrity fluctuates with your unique level of Biblical knowledge and your willingness to work together with the Spirit of Love.

  • Read more about the role you play in "Turning a Spiritual Reality into the Physical​" in Appendix 1L.

 

Christians are known to be lifelong learners because of their relationship to God. It's no longer about doing things that bring you (or someone close to you) instant satisfaction. Because of your security in Christ, your life's ambition change. By shifting your perspective to God's (as revealed in the Bible), you learn that when you keep your eyes on God's care for you, you become free to love others. Being filled with the Spirit is like gas to a car (Romans 13:8-14). It's not God's part to stop and get the gas. It's His responsibility to supply a never ending well for the gas station. It's your responsibility to know (make a conscious decision) to fill up your tank so you get to where you want to go, and to know that God provides the gas for it as long as you use it. This is the balance of Christianity - it's the performance tension between faith and action. The more you take the time to learn about Christ, the more His Word fills you up so you feed your spirit and heart, rather than your flesh and soul (Colossians 3:3-8, Galatians 5:13, 16-18, Romans 8:4, Ephesians 5:17). Your expectations, knowledge of your faith and the degree of trust you assign to God will dictate your stress level.  

 

For a Christian recovering from unhealthy addiction(s), there are two decisions that rid you of the tension caused by this conflict between the flesh and the spirit.

  1. deciding to walk the talk of Christianity - expressing integrity to the God of Love by displaying a selfless and unconditionally applied love, and

  2. living in a smaller community of people who supports the expression of those same values through positive feedback.

​​​​The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 2:1-9). If you select God as your highest authority, at first your fear of His greatness (your acceptance and respect for His majesty and power) instills a standard for and in you to aspire to (Palm 33:3-4, 18). This hope changes your perception which changes your intake of knowledge (1 Chronicles 29:11). As you study and apply the Word of God to your life, this fresh perception enables you to see the trustworthiness of God and births the courage to act with Christian Cognitive Consistency so you achieve the hope of your faith. The fear of God melts into a love. A loving relationship with Him unifies your spirit, soul and body which fuels your motivation to act consistently, whether in privately or socially.

  • “Wisdom is knowing the right path to take. Integrity is taking it.” M.H. McKee. 

  • Your display of public behavior is an outcome of decision-making. Value-based decisions made in public proves your character integrity. ​Read more at "Intentional, Value-Based Decision-making", Appendix 2M; Make God Honoring Decisions and take the quizzes in the related bible study in the Capture Your Vision tab.

  • Will you act in public according to your moral values (do what you say you believe) so you attract others with similar values, or will you follow old friends with different goals?

Integrity (Part A)

Let Faith Drive Your Integrity

​Behavioral integrity is not just a popular concept in Christianity, but in the secular world as well, as clearly seen by the work of many of the researchers in academia analyzing the success of community and business leaders. Positive Psychologist, Martin Seligman (2011), developed the PERMA model pictured here. He constructed it from a list of traits that were found to contribute to a leaders overall social satisfaction (Peterson & Seligman, (2004)).

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Some of the traits that were included in these categories were love, wisdom/knowledge, courage, humanity, justice, temperance (self-control, forgiveness), gratitude/transcendence (far sightedness, optimism), zest, hope, creativity, curiosity, kindness, perspective, perseverance, and humility. These traits have both a psychological and a social perspective, irregardless of social stereotyping. While there are multiple definitions of love in the general public, a point of agreement is how the development of love compels behavior. Both scientists and theologians agree that it’s the expression of a grateful love that brings satisfaction in life and is a key driver to your own well-being (Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2004, Seligman, 2011). The virtue of love plays a role in the healthy emotional development of individuals living in community with others (2 Corinthians 5:13-15, 1 Corinthians 15:33). 

A leader can better motivate a group of people who share similar values and goals so that not only are goals executed to standards but individualism blends into the team of people which provides psychological and social well being for both the leader and the people on the team. Humility is the foundational trait that unifies a community. Christian humility means you have put God first and this value is reflected in the decisions you make, individually and socially. Applying this to the model, Christian well-being comes when God is placed in the center of the PERMA cycle (Acts 4:32, Philippians 2:1-2).

 

Humility opens your eyes to a relationship with God and gratitude is the foundation on which to act upon so you can look upon the future with a hope. Your well-being as a Christian consists of faith, hope and love. For a Christian, gratitude for God's trustworthiness is the motive for your behavioral integrity (Appendix 1M,  Appendix 2T). You prove your identity is in Christ by working out your faith; showing/doing what it is that you believe. It compels confident decisive action, consistently. It's an example of an unconscious conscious that lives out Christ's Spirit so habitually, it's almost effortless (Colossians 1:27, Appendix 1F). Showing your faith brings you peace with God and helps you show your neighbor the impact that the Christian faith can make in life. Acting consistent with Christian principles reveals your trust in God’s love for you, an outcome that impacts your well-being.

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T.S. Lewis, a British writer and lay theologian, says, “Humility is the most difficult of all virtues to achieve; nothing dies harder than the desire to think well of oneself”. Humility is the ability to esteem both yourself and your neighbor, rather than one above another. It is the essence of team work. Humility towards another isn't instinctual.  It doesn't begin until you see the limits of humanity - and you accept this fact for yourself, not just everyone else. That's why declaring God as your highest authority is crucial for following Truth. There is no room for pride and a relative reality if you want to please God, a Supreme Spiritual Being, and turn your life around. 

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God dependency is yielding; it creates boundaries to your behavior as pictured in Appendix 2H. When a Christian chooses to incorporate faith into their well-being, these boundaries become obvious to others. It is demonstrated when you voluntarily submit to the operating procedures of a Holy, Just and Loving God and are not afraid to show it publicly. (Because you value God and your internal peace higher than your social acceptance/standing.) Relying on God as your source is a healthy dependence because it comes from trusting that God has your best interest at heart while He allows you the freedom to make your own choices.​ Choices determine who is at the source of your integrity and whether you will let your talk match your walk. When you choose God, integrity, courage, wisdom, self-discipline and humility are all outputs of the value you place on the Spiritual miracle of "Christ in you". The blending of these traits comes out in confidence, even in the face of adversity.

  • Are you using God's grace to change? Read the sermons called "Fit to be Used" and "Encounter Grace" from the Capture Your Vision tab. 

  • Are your choices based on your view of the world, your “relative reality” or does your view align with the truth of God so you have an eternal perspective?

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​Integrity (Part B) 

​Let The Truth of God Align Your Character

             John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your Word is the truth.

Without getting into a philosophical debate about the reality of things in life, Christians believe in the intangible proof that God is the source of all truth. This belief is based on experiential evidence that proves that a Spiritual change in your heart can alter your physical behavior so it’s in alignment with the source of that change, a Supernatural Christian God. For example, consider the source of truth in this statement, “Be true to yourself". If you are the source of this truth, then wouldn't you be biased from interpreting the truth through your unique perception in life? If, however, you select God as your Source of Truth (as well as Higher Authority), your motto might be, God be true and everyman, including me, a liar (Romans 3:4, Psalm 51:14). You can recognize the source of Truth by your decisions and the amount of anxiety you experience. Recognizing who is at the center or who is the source of your truth can help you better discern if you have a relative reality. 

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Bible prophecy is often used to prove the reliability and truth of God’s Word. There are many promises of God that have come to pass and more that await. If you believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and if you act on it, then you will achieve God's expected outcome, now and forever. That said, your responsibility as a Christian is to align your perception to accept God’s truth as true for you, not just every one else. Notice, it’s understanding and acceptance, not authoritative obedience, that prompts you to do good works. As stated in the Bible, your acceptance of Christ (God's love for you) is the start of your "eternal life" on earth; but what you do with that knowledge determines the consequences you experience in this life (John 6:40, 10:27-30, 17:3, 1 John 5:11-13). When you accept God’s truth as your own, you can move past yourself to see how your perception needs to shift, so your behavioral habits will change and produce the full life that Jesus described in the Parable of the Sower and summarized in Appendix 1M. 

 

The knowledge of God transforms your soul so you can use the power of the Spirit to train your body to live out Christian principles to attain Christian behavioral integrity, a function of Christian Cognitive Consistency (1 Thessalonians 2:12, 5:23). God’s character is revealed in every book of the Bible, and so, when you read it, you can recognize your own relative reality because you find reasons for and evidence of why you can trust God (Jeremiah 31:3, 1 John 4:10-12, Malachi 3:6, Romans 3:23-25, Ephesians 2:4-5, Revelation 4:8). When you get to know God, you'll want to implement His Word, and when you make the intentional decision to please Him, you are living with an eternal perspective (2 Corinthians 4:17-18, Matthew 6:33, Psalm 73,

https://www.gotquestions.org/eternal-perspective.html). God's love is expressed in many different ways but all stems from pure intentions, as personified by Jesus (Acts 10:34–35, 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9, Romans 10:13). The connection between Jesus Christ's perspective and His character integrity came out transparently (perfectly) through His personality. 

 

Become a doer of Christianity; a follower of Christ

The amount of Christianity you ShinE   is dependent on your decision to modify your behavior to reveal the Truth rather than your opinion. Personality is different from character. While they can be closely related (authenticity), your character is based on your heartfelt values and beliefs which may or may not be expressed in public. That's because of the impact that social living has on your personality.

 

There are many times in life when the decision on how to act based on influencers other than your moral compass. Your well-being is impacted by your environment because bad company corrupts good character (1 Corinthians 15:33, Romans 5:3-5, 2 Corinthians 5:6-7). Your environment will either build your confidence from the reinforcement of your practice of Christian values or it will cause frustration that will only be resolved through further decision-making - which, when your goal is to get relief rather than do God's will, blurs accountability and give birth to wishful thinking, denial, rationalization, and/justification (Appendix 1D, Appendix 1E, and the section called "... Preserving Peace" in section two; Managing Self in a Social world). 

 

Christian character integrity is something that you decide to put on and use. Your personality naturally takes the lead but it will yield to intentional decisions that are congruent with your values. It's this decision process that can close the gap between character and personality. You'll choose to put on this eternal perspective when you accept God's love for you. When you value God's opinion higher than your own opinion of yourself (or anyone else's) it compels or tempers your behavior to live freely in the boundaries of Christianity (1 John 3:9.) Love acts on choice not forced compliance.

  • Read more about the tension between self-determination and the love of God at work Appendix 2S.

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When you display Christian integrity (both in your character and in what you do publicly), and when you intentionally shift your Attitude to focus on gratitude and hope in God and when you express this in your Behavior

it will inspire joy and unity, and these Consequences are proven, not by social approval, by the peace you feel when expressing your value-based decisions (Colossians 3:16-17). The environment you choose to live in - will determine the extent of your physical transformation (sanctification), the quality of your social relationships and your psycho-social balance. It’s takes a predetermined goal and consistency in decision making (a full commitment) to reflect integrity to God in your thinking, your actions and even emotional responses (2 Corinthians 10:4). This, then, is the transformed “you” that other people see (Psalm 40:3, John 20:19-21.)  

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Jesus was the only example of living a life expressing God's Holy Love perfectly, although the people who choose to follow Him do not have to be perfect in love’s expression to earn the title, "follower"*. The often-quoted expression, “God knows our heart” can be interpreted to mean that God knows what we value. Once we consciously declare our faith in Him, God proclaims our spirit righteous based on our belief alone - a single-minded commitment to the realization of God's existence and authority over creation (Psalm 73:1, 73:26, James 4:8, 1 Thessalonians 2:4, 1 Samuel 16:7). When you get to know God's way of thinking, you develop a trusting relationship and trust acts (Luke 11:28)! God’s word encourages the expression of faith because He knows that when people live out their Godly values, they will reap the benefits of joy and peace, regardless of life’s daily circumstances (1 John 4:4, John 14:17, Psalm 119:165, Romans 14:17, 5:3-5)!

  • *Becoming a follower of Jesus is when your Christian character integrity becomes second nature as evidenced by your habits that you influenced by your decision to delay gratification for the sake of pleasing God (Romans 6:17, 1 John 3:8-10).

  • Read more on how procrastination hampers insight in the bottom half of Appendix 2G.

 

Your Perspective Lessens Response Time and Brings Aligns Your Attitude with your Behavior 

Relying on God requires a perspective change so you can make the choice to follow Jesus voluntarily. Once you’re aware of and have acknowledged God’s presence in your life, another decision is needed to change your circumstances in this life. When you have reached the “end of yourself” (or hit the bottom of the whole in your sidewalk), you realize that what you do, if not censored by the Truth and its morality, will lead to more of the same conditional behavior based on your own interpretation. Following God is a choice that enables you to change not just spiritually but you become empowered to choose to exercise control over your soul, so you control your body to match your beliefs.

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You can’t experience God working in your life without acting on His truth. Following the Lord is wanting to (a desire or intention) do things God’s way that provokes you to regulate your own behavior in order to comply with the ways of the Lord (Psalm 18:30, Galatians 5:17). 

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​Your quick, decisive actions may appear risky to others who do not share your faith, but to other Christians it serves as a powerful example of how trust in God can overcome fear (Joshua 1:9, 2 Timothy 1:7, Proverbs 3:5, Romans 8:28).​​​ By following the example of Christ, you have the ability to now choose to control your own behavior (through reliance on the Holy Spirit) so you do not have to be swayed by the secondary emotions you may feel “in the moment” (like doubt, fear, worry, anxiety, anger, procrastination). This is when reliance on the Holy Spirit to influence your actions, proves itself (https://www.gotquestions.org/fruit-Holy-Spirit-self-control.html). As a Christian, your level of anxiety will fluctuate based on (or is in correlation to) the amount of behavior you express publicly, not perfectly – revealing that your heart trusts God rather than man (2 Timothy 1:7, Romans 8:5, 8:14, 14:7, 1 Corinthians 2:14). Be confident in the goodness of God so your confidence can overtake your anxieties (Psalm 19:7, Isaiah 26:3-4, 55:8-9, Proverbs 3:5-7, Matthew 6:34, 19:17, Psalm 31:19-20).

  • Following the Holy Spirit may feel like driving a plane blindfolded, but, in reality, it’s trusting that you are flying on autopilot. This is an example of how repositioning your perspective and trusting that you are "in Christ" can calm your mind so that your values rule over your thinking and subsequent decisions/actions. 

  • Take the quiz called, "Good Goals and Habits Lead to Mission Accomplished".

  • Read the articles in "Still Anxious?" to retrain your brain to think faith first! (Matthew 6:33) 

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Placing your hope in God equips you with this Eternal Perspective​

When you look upon the situations in world and those that directly impact your life using an Eternal perspective, it means you believe that eventually all things will work for the good of those of love God, and this living hope will drive your behavior (Matthew 6:33, Romans 8:11, 14, 28, 35-37, Appendix 2R). Having an Eternal perspective is what shapes and provides boundaries to your thinking and cuts through the common emotions that are associated with the limits of humanity (focusing on you, rather than on what the power of God can do through you).  1 John 4:4-5 captures the mindset of a productive Christian; ". . . You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world" (2 Peter 1:3-9). Simply put, the decision to live your life dedicated to bringing glory to God, rather than yourself, is what balances the psycho-social equation in a Christian. Loyalty to God is the leveler in your character integrity and leads your actions when in public. Your relationship (fellowship) with God is maintained by using self-discipline and reliance on the leading of the Holy Spirit.

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Your Godly Eternal perspective is one where you recognize God's supremacy and humble yourself so you choose to walk in love towards Him and, as a result, everyone else you see along the way (Isaiah 57:15, 66:2, 2 Corinthians 7:10, Luke 3:8, Ephesians 5:1-2, 2 John 1:6, John 13:34). This is the straight and narrow path that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14). You'll walk with Christian character integrity no matter what happens in a self-centered world because you know God's character and trust that He will use His supernatural power for your good and His glory, in His perfect timing (Isaiah 4:2-6, Revelation 19:1, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 4:5-7, Philippians 4:19-20, Romans 4:20, read  "...gain an eternal perspective"  "... Zeal for His own Glory").

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When you put on Christ, you'll be strengthen to walk down a new sidewalk into a new neighborhood  where your Christianity is reinforced. Your new social reputation leads you away from desires that your flesh is attracted to and keeps you walking on a straight path towards eternal and everlasting life (Isaiah 35:8, Ephesians 4:14-15, 1 John 4:6, 4:12-16, Proverbs 14:11, 21:26, Appendix 2N). Focus your eyes on the goal of eternal life in Christ and this will limit the distractions of living in a materialistic world (Matthew 6:21, 19:21, Mark 8:36, Luke 12:15, Hebrews 13:5, 2 Corinthians 4:18, 1 Timothy 6:6). ​​​

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Have you reached your new normal in Christ?

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