Integrity

Integrity

“The empty barrel makes the most noise.”  That Jamaican proverb speaks to the tendency of many people who dominate discussions with a lot of vague and meaningless words.  Despite many rhetorical flourishes and broad-brush strokes, they say nothing of substance.  Having nothing meaningful to say, they overcompensate with excessive words and loudness.  Like a preacher who once wrote in the margins of his manuscript, “Weak argument - yell at this point,” these people use volume to distract others from fully realizing their meritless positions. Accordingly, they are the empty barrels whose rattling demonstrates that they contain nothing.

This proverb considers an even greater issue, integrity.  A barrel usually contains various types of cargo that it protects from the elements.  Likewise, the circumstances of our lives challenge us to assess our worldview.  Do we live in a manner consistent with our beliefs?  Do we steadfastly adhere to those beliefs despite the rain, which symbolizes life’s tests and trials?  Or, like an empty barrel, do we insist upon a certain worldview even if we do not reflect it in our lifestyles?  The lack of integrity relegates us to being empty barrels.

Practically speaking, integrity means letting your “Yes” be “Yes” and your “No” be “No.”  That is very difficult for a lot of people.  Admittedly, it is a major challenge in life.  Nonetheless, we must strive for maturity and discipline to live consistently with our heartfelt beliefs.  It is not enough to merely say, “I meant well” or “You know, my heart is in the right place.”  Can people rely upon your word?  Can they trust you to fulfill your word with appropriate action?  If you give your word privately, do you act accordingly in a public situation?  Do people humor you when you speak because they expect you to backpedal on everything you say? 

Integrity has very little to do with what we say.  It has everything to do with what we do.  Faith, truth, love, mercy, peace and justice, which are the enduring treasures of life, are actually verbs and not nouns.  We love to talk about these things.  All of that chatter is meaningless until our lives reflect our internal possession of these sacred characteristics.  In the immortal hymn of love, 1 Corinthians 13, the apostle insists that a profession of love without consistent action reduces us to clanging cymbals.  Elsewhere, Jesus says that a tree is truly known by the fruit that it bears.  People who know love produce the fruit of love in their lives.  Similarly, people of integrity demonstrate their beliefs to others rather than confess them endlessly.

Accountability factors significantly into becoming a person of integrity.  We seek the standard of achieving balance between word and deed.  Additionally, we ask the same of others with whom we live, work and relate.  In any given organization, the least committed tend to be the most vocal.  They give the least in terms of money, time, talent and work to the organization.  Yet, they insist upon setting the agenda of the group despite the serious disconnect between their words of sincerity and lack of follow through in their actions.  If unchallenged, these empty barrels will rattle incessantly.  At some point, those who strive for integrity must confront the least committed with the necessity of being accountable to their beliefs and the purposes of the organization.  Having worked at three institutions of higher education, it never ceased to amaze me that those who gave the least were always the one who complained about being overworked and underpaid.  If the more committed persons remain silent, then they create a vacuum in which the least committed, the empty barrels, make a lot of meaningless noise.  Accountability is the only remedy to that pandemonium.

People of integrity command our respect even if we fiercely disagree with them.  Integrity begins with communication.  Once we give our word, we must proceed to act upon it without excuses and equivocation.  Otherwise, no one can ever take us seriously.  Honest, straightforward and open communication is the beginning of integrity.  Anything said must be followed by equally consistent and timely action.  Otherwise, we become clanging cymbals and empty barrels, which make the most noise.