Di Bassinga Diaries: Integrity

“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory... What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?... [In Abraham], you see that faith was active along his works, and faith was completed by his works...” (James 2:1, 14, 22)

I've wrestled with partiality for a while, the equal treating of our neighbors, especially as I've adjusted to life in the city. "How can I treat everyone the same when nobody's the same?" I need to be mindful of my own physical, emotional, and spirtitual safety; people relying on me in different ways; different commitments I have to different people. How, in a world of variation, can we treat each person equally? The answer lies in becoming an integrated person: to operate from a solid foundation, to have your character rooted in something that doesn't change—in Christ, for instance. Whenever I've thought about this, the temptation has been to try and think of scenarios that one might find themselves in, then to lay out a general framework for conduct in such a situation. I've struggled with that thought, though, because life is much more complex than I could ever properly lay out on paper. There are trillions of specific circumstances and situations that I will never find myself in, and the same probably goes for you. So rather than laying out specific actions one can take, I figure it's more useful to speak to principles, attitudes, and heart postures.

The second chapter in James' letter starts with his laying out a scenario and commenting on the way we treat different "kinds" of people, a rich man and a poor man. My initial instinct has always been to take that and thus create different sets of rules for different people. But James draws us to a different perspective, one that calls for us look at our character rather than at setting up systems and rules for different situations. After all, it's only fair that we lift the poor man up and leave the rich to his resources, right? Why spend any time making the lives of the fortunate individual any better when there are people whose survival depends on the kindness of strangers and systems? To a thought like that James says, "have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?" The Word doesn't call for partial treatment of others. Instead, James invokes the second greatest commandment for us to think about. "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Love is Constant

"You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor. I am the LORD." (Leviticus 19:15-16)

In researching for this entry I stumbled upon a seemingly random section of Scripture: Leviticus. A book of laws. Chapter 19 lays out some ground rules for how the Israelites were meant to conduct themselves with respect to their neighbors—in the ESV, verses 9 to 18 are called "Love Your Neighbor as Yourself." The Lord lays out a simple set of situations which were meant to guide the Israelites to an attitude of generosity, honesty, goodness, impartiality, and love. Rather than catering to any group, the Lord calls for a continuous acting in the best interest of the other. If you wanted specifics, it's a good chapter to go to. This emphasis on impartial love is also echoed throughout the New Testament. Paul writes this to the Philippians just before speaking on Christ as the picture of humility:

"So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:1-4)

There's more. In 1 Corinthians, love is described as an enduring spirit, it never ends. This makes sense, because if it weren't then we might call it conditional or limited, but then we couldn't attribute to the Lord, we can't tie Him to a conditional love. The apostle John writes that our loving one another is the proof of the Lord's Spirit in us (1 John 4:12-13). In the Psalms, the Lord's love is described as steadfast. Back to 1 Corinthians, we see love described as patient, not irritable, bearing all things, believing all things, hoping all things, and enduring all things (among other things). In 1 Corinthians 16, Paul encourages the Church to be firm in faith and to do everything in love. I could keep going on this. Love is constant. It's meant to be a posture from which we live our lives. That being the case, it's, again, difficult to simply give a play-by-play for every situation out there. Instead, what if we simply focused on being the type of people that did everything through and for love? How could we do that?

So Be Constant

"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can the faith save him?" (James 2:14)

I'm speaking now on the foundation of a person. If we wish to live in inexhaustible love, a love that endures as a source of action rather than as a thing to be mustered up, then the simple answer is seek righteousness and integrity. If you're committed to loving the Lord, honoring Him, and keeping His commandments, then you will inevitably become a person who would do right by their neighbor regardless of the situation—and to make things right in the event that you do wrong them. I landed on "Integrity" as the title of this entry, because I believe a focus on simply being the kind of person who is fully yielded to the Lord (aka spiritually mature), who abides and obeys, is a more effective course of thought. If you're patient and faithful in building your foundation in the Lord, then you can be certain that partial treatment of others becomes a thing of the past.

"Faith without works is dead," says the Word. So let your works—your actions—line up with what you profess by mouth. And you ought to be confident enough to profess, that's half of the equation of salvation Paul gives to the Romans (Romans 10:9-10). The other half being a belief in the heart, which one could reasonably conclude would be followed by action. Even Christ Himself had something to say on this matter. In the Gospel of Matthew this comes after Jesus casts demons out of a man, He addresses the crowd's questions about whose power it is He works through. In the Gospel of Luke it comes after Jesus speaks tho those who judge, and before encouraging the crowd, essentially, to live integrated lives with foundations built in steady rocks:

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:33-37)

I could go much deeper on all of this, and someday I'm sure I will becuase it's important, but for now I'll digress. The second chapter of James ends with an allusion to Abraham's faith. He writes, "'Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.'—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone." It's important to separate justification and salvation here. James isn't saying that our works save us. But without works, it's reasonable to ask just how deeply the Gospel runs in your heart, to ask yourself just how deep and true a relationship you have with the Lord. I don't submit these statements judgementally, I ask the same things of myself, I think it's important to do so.

"Christianity" isn't meant just to be apart of your life. When you accept Christ into your heart, you accept a call to make disciples and to spread the Gospel. You accept a new set of "rules" to live by, at the very least a new frame through which to see the world. We're warned in Scripture that we can't serve two masters, that the Lord doesn't deal with those who are double-minded. So set your hope fully on Christ. Engage faithfully in the process of sanctification and rejoice in the freedom Christ bought for us. Become a person of integrity, and you're bound to make a positive impact for the Kingdom.

Be blessed.

---

Verses to Look Back On:

James 2*

Leviticus 19:9-18

Psalm 101

John 15:1-17

Romans 13:8-14

Galatians 5:16-25