Integrity of Speech – Proverbs 25:11-14

Warren Buffet, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway said it best:, “Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.”  As Amy Rees Anderson says, in her insightful Forbes article, Success Will Come and Go, But Integrity Is Forever, “A person’s dishonesty will eventually catch up to them. It may not be today, and it may not be for many years, but you can rest assured that at some point there will always be a reckoning.”

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.  Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear.  Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters.  Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give. (Proverbs 25:11–14, ESV)

How is integrity displayed in speech?

• I have the privilege to work on a board of a ministry where I get to hear words fitly spoken on every occasion our board meets.  It happens because these people care about our ministry to street kids, because they are people of compassion and wisdom, and because they are more concerned about those in need than their own needs.
• I remember a day long ago in which I was on a high horse about a certain leader and making a stink about it.  My youth director called me one day and reminded me I was under authority and must give honor to this leader.  I loved this director and the way he reproved me I was able to receive.  It blessed me.
• To faithfully represent the message from another is of great value.  Integrity in relaying another’s message is refreshing.  We know we have heard truly from the one who sent him or her.
• Failure to produce betrays the boaster.  There is no integrity in the one who claims he or she can do something when they cannot.  We do not, with integrity, claim to be more than we are out of a need to forward ourselves and have influence.

Integrity will always be revealed in how we speak, as will the lack of integrity.