When I look back on my high school years, I cringe a bit when I reflect on some of the things that I did.
And like honestly, I was a pretty good kid.
But I also realize that maybe I shouldn’t have participated in that prank, or I wonder why I felt I was justified in being rude to someone.
I can just totally see now that there was a disconnect in my integrity—
My actions did not always line up with my beliefs.
And I didn’t even always realize it in the moment
When I read about Noah, he is spoken of so highly in the scriptures:
“Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations”. (Genesis 6:9)
Perfect?!
Well, I’m a big fan of footnotes, and when I looked at the footnote attached to “perfect”, I noticed something:
The Hebrew meaning could also translate to, “complete, whole, having integrity”.
Now THAT makes sense to me.
Noah must have been a man of great integrity.
When he said that he loved God, his actions aligned with making God a priority in his life.
When he said he would be obedient, he didn’t purposefully cut any corners.
When he said he would love and care for those around him, he didn’t make exceptions for anyone.
He was consistent in each area of his life to the best of his abilities.
This is what makes Noah such a great example and disciple of God.
And it makes me want to consider:
How does my integrity measure up?
Not my perfection, but my degree of integrity?
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
