(A Monroe Quilt)
We see who a person really is when they are under pressure. Do they have “integrity?” That is, are they integrated morally and spiritually? Consider metal. A piece of metal is said to have structural integrity when pressure is increasingly put on it and it does not crack. If the metal is integrous it means that it’s the same here and the same over there and the same wherever you look at it. Apply pressure, and a chunk of metal that has integrity won’t crack anywhere. But if it lacks integrity at any point, that’s where it will crack.
Personally I’ve never met a person who I’ve thought was perfectly integrated. But I’ve known some who come close. Using my Christian perspective, this means they love and follow Jesus whether they are in public or in private, whether in the church sanctuary on a Sunday morning or home with their family on Monday evening. In that regard they are the real thing. They are consistent. Their friends and children don’t view them as hypocrites who smile in front of others and go berserk in their living rooms, who show up on Sunday but whose words can’t be counted on when it’s Monday.
If you were a tennis player and wanted to grow in your skills then play against opponents who are better then you. Want to grow in your faith? It mostly happens when darkness comes. Want to grow in character? Character development mostly happens during times of struggle. A well-integrated soul holds together in good times or bad times. The apostle Paul expresses it this way: “I have learned the secret of being content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:11)
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