Walk the Walk? Or Just Talk the Talk?

One of my professors today said "Your integrity will follow you for the rest of your life, a grade will not. Are you willing to sacrifice your integrity for something that no one will remember in a year or two?"

How many times are we willing to sacrifice just "one quiz" its no big deal.
I'll just look at her work to see how she did it... just this time.

I'm not going to lie... I've sacrificed things before that when I look back... I just think how stupid I was. They were just little things... things that probably no one else even noticed. But I've learned my lesson, and not only do I try to hold up my integrity, but by doing so, I help others as well. Maybe I sound like a hypocrite, but that is not my intention. I have to work at it too, its definitely not easy choosing the right thing. Even when no one else is watching. I know so many people who live two different lives though; one at school, one at home, etc., etc. We all do it, but I think the world needs to work at being real, being genuine. The definition of integrity is "being honest, and having strong moral principles."

One of the things that has hit me the past few days is that people do watch you. They remember things. Even if you're not aware of it, you could be changing someone's life. Its happened with me, and  I've been told that I've changed peoples' lives. I know I have changed simply because of something a person said or did when they had no idea I could hear them. It was awful... but I was able to take that and change how I handle certain situations in my own life. People that I only know bits and pieces about are telling me that the things I write on here have influenced some things in their own life. WOW.  Half the time I write, I feel like I'm just posting my rambling thoughts. No one really cares what I write, but somehow God turns my jumbled up thoughts into something that He can use to reach someone else.

So are you willing to sacrifice your integrity for a grade? or for something bigger? or even smaller?
Think about it.

Passages to look up:
Job 27:6
2 Cor 4:2
Hebrews 13:8

"Honesty is the best policy, as the saying goes. It works in business as it does in all of life. Without honesty, relationships fail, business turns sour, and self-respect goes right out the door. Honesty is the bedrock upon which we build our marriages, conduct our businesses, and sell our products."
~Edward Hayes~