People with integrity stand on truth, and they don’t just agree with the opinion of the crowd.
Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. Luke 23:50-54
The above passage tells us that one man had the integrity and the courage not to succumb to the pressure of the Jewish council. Joseph of Arimathea did not consent to the decision of Jesus being crucified. On the contrary, he was willing to give up a tomb that he had purchased for himself and use it for Jesus’ body.
Joseph was already being courageous not to go along with pressure from the crowd and not consent to Jesus’ death, but his integrity went to another level when he could not just stand in the shadows and see Jesus’ body to be treated with dishonor. He made sure that Jesus’ body was properly prepared and laid in the tomb. Where was everybody else!?
Interestingly, Joseph had not spent 3 1/2 years as Jesus’ disciple. He was not there for all of Jesus’ teachings or had seen all the miracles that Jesus had done. Furthermore, Joseph was comfortable in life and already had the prestige of being one of the members of the council. He could have remained quiet and just believed secretly, but something inside of him did not allow him to be quiet about Truth! He had to stand for the Truth!
This is what people with integrity do. They stand for truth regardless of the cost. We don’t know if or how Joseph paid a price for his actions, but it would not be surprising if he had experienced backlash and/or punishment from his fellow council members or the Jewish people. He could have potentially lost his position as a member of the council. He may have enraged the Jewish leaders and disappointed his family and friends. Furthermore, he may have lost the privilege of future promotions in his Jewish circles.
At some point, integrity is going to cost us something, and we have a decision to make. Are we going to stand with what is true, just, and fair, or are we going to shrink back, remain quiet, and go along with the crowd!?
Standing up for truth is not going to be appreciated by everyone. As a matter of fact, some may consider the person disloyal, but if we have integrity, our conscience will not allow us to remain silent and compromise on truth. This means we may lose some relationships, but our ultimate goal is to please God and make sure we are representing Him in every situation.
That’s why we need to be careful how we align ourselves with people. Those who seek our loyalty may expect us to compromise truth to stand with them in times of pressure. Our first and foremost loyalty needs to be to the Lord. Our second loyalty is to find the truth and stand with it. We need to do our due diligence to gather all the facts before we jump on someone’s bandwagon. Sometimes those who are relational know how to manipulate others to gain their sympathy or allegiance. If we are going to remain as people of integrity, we cannot allow our relationships to dictate whether we are going to compromise on truth or not.
Amen