Integrity starts with a decision. You can decide today, regardless of what has happened in the past, that, from now on, you are a man or woman of integrity. You can grow and develop in integrity.

Say, "I am a man or woman of integrity. I have made a decision. Whatever happened in my past isn't the devil's business. When I confessed it before God, He forgave it and cleansed me of all unrighteousness."

When you have been cleansed of all unrighteousness, you have dropped the "un" and what does that leave you with? Righteous—in right-standing with God. God says from that moment, "That is my child of integrity."

Worship Only God
Abram was a man who didn't have any integrity. He was a worshipper of the moon. When God first spoke to that man, he was a moon worshiper. He was a man with no integrity, but before it was all said and done, he was a man full of integrity.

In Genesis 16, Sarai told Abram, you can have my young maid. You can go to bed with her until she becomes impregnated. The Bible tells us that Abram harkened. He got in a hurry and she became pregnant.

Let's pick up the story at that point with verse six:

But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. And Hagar bare Abram a son: and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.
(Gen. 16:6-16 KJV)

Lack of integrity will produce an Ishmael. This is a son born out of his lack of integrity. You will see what the results of this will be. This will be a man born in strife. He will fight everybody and everybody will fight him.

Let me tell you that is still true today. I remember the last time I was in Israel, and I am telling you, you still see that right now. You get over to the Palestinian side and you can just see this war going on between the child of the blessed, Isaac, and the child born out of integrity.

You see there is war all over that region even as we speak. Centuries later, because of an act that was not in integrity.

If we go back to chapter 14, we see that Abram began to exercise integrity where financial things were concerned. He began to tithe of all that he had. Now we see that Abram has developed integrity where money was concerned.

You can have integrity in one area and not have integrity in another. Chapter 14 is where he had integrity with money, but two chapters later, he does not have integrity where sex is concerned.

Integrity Everywhere
You can be strong in the Lord and have integrity in one area, but you need to understand that Satan will not attack you where you are strong. He will find out where you are weak and that is where he will go.

Satan does not play fair. He doesn't come on man to man, eyeball to eyeball. Satan is always trying to find where is your weak spot, trying to probe you to find out where you don't have integrity. The place where you don't have it is the place that Satan is going to work, and that is the place where you will be delayed from your manifestation until you develop it.

There are three areas whereby Satan comes against people whereby to rob them of their integrity. They are:

1. Money
2. Sex
3. Pride

What area in your life are you weak in? What area do you seemingly have a problem and lack of integrity? That is the area you are going to have to face now so that you can get over the mountain and become Abraham instead of Abram.

Integrity is an anchor that will keep you. God will find a way. Whatever area you don't have knowledge in, if you are someone with integrity, God will send someone to teach you the Word, if you don't let pride get before you and say that you already know it.

You might say, I missed God and I know the window of opportunity came and I am now old and it is all messed up. Let me tell you, God didn't even call Moses into his ministry until he was 80 years old. I don't care what your age is, God can bring you to where he intended you to be. He can restore that which was eaten up by the canker worm, and by your own mistakes.

Now you are going to have to decide to walk perfect before God. Make a decision. That is the decision he is asking of man.

God loves a man or woman of integrity. If you make the decision today, God will take you on your way to the place that he has designed for you. Integrity is the way to God's best for your life.

Copyright © Keith Butler Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.