Making Decisions with Integrity

May 2, 2025

“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.” Proverbs 10:9 (NIV)

When it comes to making decisions—big or small—the Bible offers plenty of wisdom. One principle it offers over and over again is what I call the Integrity Test. When you’re making a decision, ask yourself, “Would I want everyone to know about this decision?”

If the thought of other people finding out about your decision worries you, then you’re probably making the wrong decision. Bad decisions lead to secrecy, and that kind of secret always leads to pain in your life.

The Bible says: “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out” (Proverbs 10:9 NIV).

When you have integrity, your public life and your private life match. What’s in your heart is the same as what other people see on the outside. What you say and what you do are in harmony.

The truth is, when it comes to integrity, you may fool everyone else, but you can’t fool yourself. And if you violate your own conscience, you have to pay for that.

James 4:17 says, “Knowing what is right to do and then not doing it is sin” (TLB).

When making a decision, ask yourself: Can I do this with a clear conscience?

Violating your conscience is a big mistake. God will forgive you for the wrong you do. But forgiveness doesn’t free you from the consequences of bad decisions.

You can be forgiven and still have regrets. You can be forgiven and still face pain. You can be forgiven and still have broken relationships.

Many decisions you make are clear-cut. But what about those where it’s harder to know right from wrong? The Bible speaks to that, too: “If someone believes it is wrong, then he shouldn’t do it because for him it is wrong” (Romans 14:14 TLB).

God’s given you the wisdom of the Bible and of your conscience because he loves you. The Integrity Test will help keep you on the path that God knows is for your good.

Let me give you six ways you can work this week to become a person of integrity in how you live and the decisions you make. You become a person of integrity by:

1. Keeping your promises.

People of integrity keep their word. If they say they’ll do it, they do it. If they say they’ll be there, they show up. The Bible says in Proverbs 25:14, “People who promise things that they never give are like clouds and wind that bring no rain” (GNT).

2. Paying your bills.

You may not think this is a big deal, but it’s a big deal to God. Do you spend more money than you make? That is a lack of integrity. Do you get yourself in debt for things that you can’t pay off? That is a lack of integrity. Psalm 37:21 says, “The wicked borrow and never pay back” (GNT).

3. Refusing to gossip.

God is looking for men and women of integrity who know how to keep a secret and not pass it around on social media. Don’t talk about people behind their back. Don’t even listen to that stuff, because a “gossip can’t be trusted with a secret, but someone of integrity won’t violate a confidence” (Proverbs 11:13 MSG).

4. Faithfully tithing.

Wherever you put your money first is what’s most important to you. The Bible says, “Is it right for a person to cheat God? Of course not, yet you are cheating me. ‘How?’ you ask. In the matter of tithes and offerings . . . Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple . . . Put me to the test and you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour out on you in abundance all kinds of good things” (Malachi 3:8, 10 GNT).

5. Doing your best at work.

Colossians 3:23 says, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (NLT). If you’re a believer, your real boss is God, and whether anybody else sees your work, God does.

6. Being real with others.

A person of integrity doesn’t act one way in church and another way at work and another way on the golf course. “We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don’t maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don’t twist God’s Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open” (2 Corinthians 4:2 MSG).