Article May 17, 1999 Issue

Integrity's dividends

Enjoy doing what's right.

By Virginia Houge Stevens

A friend of mine agreed to take a class with a colleague. But later, my friend (who is a real estate agent) received a call asking her to show properties to a couple moving into the area. They would be in town the same two days as the class. My friend explained that she already had plans, but after some discussion, she agreed to think it over.

It was tempting to break her commitment to her colleague. After all, she really needed the clients. Yet, in turning to God, she saw that she was trying to rationalize something she didn't honestly feel good about. So she decided that, even if the whole world thought it was crazy to miss this type of opportunity, she would do what she felt was right. Promptly, she called back to say that she couldn't take on these clients.

My friend understood that landing a real estate deal was not the important point here. Of higher value was her conviction that, because God's law of good is always operating, she couldn't possibly lose out on good by basing her actions on integrity and honesty. She trusted that since her motives were pure, she would be blessed, although she didn't know specifically how that blessing would appear. And the best part was that she didn't care. Doing the right thing was enough. She was living by this proverb: "The integrity of the upright shall guide them" (Prov. 11:3).

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