The Sunday Mail
Life Issues with FGK
THERE is a lot of compromise in our society.
Some people do not hesitate to be dishonest. They make under-hand deals and do not keep their word. Yet they wonder why they are not getting ahead in life.
They rarely scrutinise their lives and the way they conduct their affairs with other people. They constantly wonder why misfortunes continually enjoy their company. They even question, “why me?”
This is because most of the times people who should be choosing them have chosen another in their stead. The answer is integrity. They have not trained themselves to conduct their affairs with integrity. This virtue gives you power and influence, it wins you favour with God and men.
Integrity is the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one’s actions. It is the quality of possessing a high moral standard and steadfastly adhering to principles.
Integrity, therefore, does not manifest only when it is easy to execute an action but it is usually conspicuous in those moments when the odds seem to stumble your comfort and ease. The demand for it is when the easier route conflicts with your word and what you stand for.
Integrity is manifest that moment when all the possibilities seem to bring pleasure but in the process they contradict a single fundamental which might not be on the expectation list of society. lt is a discipline you set for yourself, which only you know.
A person of integrity is one who stands firm and is not gullible — outside pressures and status quo do not seem to affect them or their beliefs. A person of integrity is not fake in nature, they respond to circumstances in wisdom and often with calmness.
They even influence the people around them through their charisma and they command respect. They do not necessarily acquire attention through force but they automatically become magnetic to those around them.
Who does not love one who keeps their word? Who does not love one who delivers their promise? Integrity is not parading skill in front of people, it is also about getting things done, even in secret when cheerleaders are absent. It is not in the venting of pressure through easy routes but it is often in getting to the root or source of the problem by not sweeping responsibility under the carpet but delving deeper to the end of a thing without counting or regretting the pain encountered in the process.
If you have integrity, you find joy in accomplishing the set goal and in fulfilling your word, just like God. You get to have a proper analysis to fix difficulties and make the necessary arrangements and steps to noble solutions.
Integrity is the foundation that success and prosperity is built on. You can have talent, you can have money, and you can have it all but still be poor because you lack the virtue of integrity. Vision and determination will get you nowhere when you neglect integrity.
Integrity is in doing the right things when no one is even watching because you are not doing it for praise. When you have integrity, you do not show up late for work because the boss has travelled. You do not take supplies from your workplace for personal use at home only because the security man is your friend. You do not pretend to be working on the computer because the boss just walked in, yet all along you were playing solitaire.
You do not swindle someone’s funds because they have nowhere to report you. You will not withhold someone’s commission or the agreed cut to a deal because you made the sale without their knowledge. You do not always make personal phone calls at the office and chat with friends and family on the phone because you are not worried about who pays that bill.
Most of you appease your guilt by saying “they do not pay me enough anyway”, but that’s not integrity. God has a way of punishing dishonesty and He also has a way of rewarding integrity, whether a person is Christian or not; this is a set principle for every inhabitant of the earth. What you sow is what you reap and you should do unto others what you want them to do unto you!
Let us say the bank teller gives you too much money in return as change because the notes were crispy and difficult to separate, but you find out when you have driven a kilometre away from the bank. Will you have the integrity to drive back and return the extra money? Or will you “thank the Lord” for giving you something to spend on groceries? If you use the money, that will not be an answer to your prayers but a betrayal, a failure of integrity.
Most of you will be surprised when almost everything you attempt goes west and ends in disaster. You do not find a shoe size for the shoe that you want to buy in the boutique; you always have to spill that glass of juice when you sit down to eat with great people; you missed the plane when your colleagues invited you for a holiday; when you are late for a deal you always find traffic packed up in your way – do not be surprised, when you lack integrity you are likely to encounter misfortunes because systems of the world are programmed to respond to you disrespectfully. If you lack integrity, you do not command respect and therefore even trees do not feel like giving you their shade on a sunny day. No one will stand for you because you do not stand for anyone.
You cannot be a deceiver and expect loyalty, either from people or from your environment. You cannot be a crook and expect honesty from your subordinates. You cannot cheat on your wife and expect your business partners to be straight with your profits. When somebody knocks at your door, you send your child to answer and say you are not home. Why then are you surprised when they lie to you tomorrow?
It is not integrity to make commitments that you are not going to be able to keep. That is not faith – that is foolishness. Most of you fall into entanglements because you are too afraid to disappoint people, therefore you always say “yes” even when you know within yourself that you cannot meet their request. At the end of the day you are labelled a prevaricator because you could not say “no” to their request. Do not promise people the moon when you know you cannot even get to the clouds.
Proverbs, the wisdom book of the Holy Bible says, “A good name is worth more than great riches.” It is therefore important to watch what you say and do because society is watching. After watching, they will give you a name accordingly. There are things which normally distract people from being noble and just. Things like greed, the desire to acquire more than what is deserved drives people to be ruthless in greed.
They tend to dodge anything that does not benefit them directly and instantly in pursuit of anything that spells gain to them. These people become thieves, fraudulent and exhibit unhealthy business practices for profit. There is also pleasure; people want to enjoy and be happy so they will do anything to move away from things that make them feel sad and under pressure.
In the process a lot of compromise is done, they are exposed and everyone will know they do not have integrity. They lie to escape responsibility and obligations. They hate the law and do anything they can to evade justice, which they deem as oppressive.
Ignorance is the lack of knowledge and proper information. Ignorance causes one’s mind to be blind and they cannot see what is coming their way. Their choices are also limited. This causes a person not to value what is valuable and esteem foolishness.
Lust is the strong sexual desire that causes men and women to reduce themselves to males and females. People disregard ethics and morals in pursuit of sexual pleasure and many will fall into fornication and adultery, they cheat on their spouses and lose character.
Today I will conclude by this powerful saying of the fifth law, from the book 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene: “So much depends on reputation, guard it with your life!”
Thus I will add, it is integrity that gives you an expected reputation. To be continued…
Quote of the week: A good name is worth more than riches.
◆ Feedback: www.fgklifeissues.co.zw, Instagram: Life issues with FGK, Facebook: Life issues with FGK
