Joel Osteen — The Rewards of Integrity (11/12/2018)
Integrity is the foundation for a truly successful and blessed life—doing the right thing even when no one is watching, keeping your word, and staying honorable in private as in public. Joel Osteen draws from Proverbs, Psalm 101, and stories like Nathanael, Abraham’s king, and the builder to show that God rewards integrity with protection, favor, promotion, and the fullness of your destiny.
The Foundation of Integrity
I want to talk to you today about the rewards of integrity. There is a lot of compromise in our society—people who think nothing about being dishonest, making underhanded deals, not keeping their word. They wonder why they cannot get ahead. It is because they do not have integrity. Integrity is the foundation that a successful life is built on. You can have talent, vision, determination, but without integrity you will not reach your highest potential.
A person of integrity does the right thing when no one is watching. They do not play on the computer because the boss stepped away. They do not leave people out of a commission because they did not know about the sale. They do not cut corners at the job site because nobody will find out about it. They give it their best whether anyone is there or not.
When you have integrity, you do not take supplies from the office to bring home to use. You do not show up late to work and have somebody clock in earlier for you. You do not spend half the day making personal phone calls at the office. «Well, they do not pay me enough anyway.» Maybe not, but that is not integrity. If you will do the right thing, God will make it up to you. He is keeping the records.
Integrity in Everyday Tests
Many things we face are simply tests. God is seeing if we are ready to go higher. Maybe the bank teller gives you too much money in return. Are you going to have integrity, go back and make things right, or are you going to say, «Thank You, Jesus, You did it again»? That is not the answer to your prayer.
Do you call in sick to work—coughing, sniffling—so you can take the day off and go shopping? You could win an Academy Award with that performance, but that is not integrity. Do not be surprised if you cannot find anything at the store, they do not have your size, nobody will wait on you, traffic is backed up. Maybe it is because there is no blessing on it.
We cannot deceive people and expect to have His favor. When somebody knocks on your door at home and you do not feel like visiting, do you tell your child, «Go answer, tell them I am not here»? That works, but it is not integrity. Do not complain when your child does not tell the truth. We are leading by example.
Keeping Commitments and Reputation
We can tell our children, «Do the right thing, stay on the high road,» but if they see us compromising, they are going to do the same thing. When you have integrity, you pay your bills. You do not sweep things under the rug. You keep your commitments. Do not buy things that you know you cannot pay for.
«Well, Joel, I am stretching my faith, I am believing for increase.» Stretch your faith before you sign on the dotted line. Let God bless you first. Once you have the funds, then you can purchase it. But it is not integrity to make commitments that you know you are not going to be able to keep.
Do not promise people the moon when you know you cannot get to the clouds. Do not write a check and then pray for three days hoping it will clear. Check your balance first. Be honest, be trustworthy, be a person of your word.
Your reputation is one of the most valuable things you have. Proverbs says, «A good name is worth more than great riches.» You can have great wealth and be looked down on, seen as shady. But when you are a person of integrity, when people look at you and think, «I can trust them. They always do the right thing. They are honest, they are fair. They do not talk to me one way and then talk to my friends behind my back another way. They are consistent.»
The Value of a Good Name
Your name, your reputation, is too important to let it become tarnished by not having integrity. When you do the right thing, when you stay on the high road, that will take you much further than being dishonest, manipulating, trying to gain an unfair advantage. We cannot turn in an exaggerated expense account and expect to be blessed. We cannot be deceitful on taxes and expect to have God’s favor.
I knew a man who tapped into the cable line behind his house and brought cable into his home without paying for it. He was so proud of it. He bragged to us for years how he was saving forty dollars a month. That man never did rise out of mediocrity. He constantly struggled, barely got by. He thought he was gaining an advantage. The truth is he was putting himself at a disadvantage.
You may gain with people, gain some material things, but what if you lose with God? He controls the universe. He is the One who can open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings that you cannot contain. I would rather have favor with God than favor with people. That man would have been better off to pay the forty dollars so he could have God’s blessing.
Staying Far Behind the Line
There is a lot we can get by with—hide, exaggerate—but anything we gain without integrity will not be as good as it could have been. It is better to be truthful and have less; then God’s favor will take you further. Too often we are letting little compromises keep us from the big things God has in store.
Instead of trying to cross the line, thinking how much can I get away with and still get by, why do you not try a different approach and see how far behind the line you can stay? Ask yourself, what is the right thing to do? If I was standing before God, what decision would I make? The more integrity you have, the more God can bless you.
In John chapter 1, Jesus saw a man named Nathanael coming toward Him. Verse 47 says Jesus knew Nathanael’s thoughts. He honored him, saying, «Here comes a man in whom there is no deceit—an upright, honest man that is free from hypocrisy and double standards.» That should be our goal: «God, I want to be so aboveboard, so full of integrity, that You will describe me like You described Nathanael—that there is no deceit in me.»
Consistency in Public and Private
«Well, Joel, that is not me.» Maybe not yet, but it can be. You can become a Nathanael. You can make decisions that honor God. When you have integrity, you are the same in private as you are in public. You do not treat people at work nice and kind and then come home and be rude and harsh to your family. That is not integrity; that is hypocrisy.
You should treat your family better than you treat anyone else. Do not be kinder to strangers than you are to your own spouse. Do not be more considerate to coworkers than you are to the people who live in your own house. Be consistent.
Some people on Sundays say, «God bless you, great to see you.» They will wave real big, real friendly. But on Mondays, if you cut them off in traffic, they will wave with one finger in the air. That is being two-faced; that is a pretender. You have to get honest with yourself.
I am not asking you to be perfect; I am asking you to be real. You will never change if you do not first acknowledge that there is some pretending going on. The next time you are tempted to switch over to the pretend you, the compromising you, the dishonest you, put your foot down. Say, «No, I am not going there. That is not who I am. That is an imitation. I am kind, loving, honest, trustworthy, calm, consistent.»
Leading by Example
You talk to yourself that way long enough, and you will have integrity with yourself. You will become consistent—the same on Monday as you are on Sunday, the same at work as you are at home. This is what I saw growing up with my parents. They were the same in the pulpit as they were at home. They did not love greatly in public and then have hateful things happen in private.
I believe this is one reason that all of us kids—with the exception of my brother Paul—turned out okay. You can fool a lot of people, but you cannot fool your children. They know when there is a double standard; they know when there is not integrity.
Our son Jonathan gave me a compliment a while back on my birthday in his Instagram post. He wrote, «My dad is one of the kindest people I know. He treats everyone he meets with respect.» I did not know that he really noticed, but people are watching. Parents, we are leading by example.
This is not to make us feel pressured but to make us strive to excel—to be honorable, trustworthy, kind people that stay on the high road. When you have integrity, you are not making underhanded deals hoping that nobody sees you. If you have to hide what you are doing, it is probably not integrity.
The Restaurant Knife Story
I have heard it said, «Do not do anything you would not want to read about the next day in the newspaper.» I was at a restaurant years ago in another city. We were traveling to an event. I had brought some lemons in the car that I wanted to cut and squeeze into an energy drink before I spoke, but I forgot the knife. We were going straight to the meeting; we did not have much time. So I thought maybe at this restaurant I can take one of their knives.
After all, I am paying a lot for this meal—just a three-dollar knife. They are not going to miss it; they are not going to care. I started reasoning it out, trying to justify taking a knife. I thought, how am I going to get it out of here? The only way is to hide it. I thought, I cannot do that. I will get Victoria to do it for me—my partner in crime.
I finally came to my senses: «You are a pastor. You are not going to go out of here hiding a piece of silverware.» I called the waiter over and said, «Sir, I need a favor. Can I buy this knife?» He went and talked to the manager, came back, brought me a set of silverware in a bag, and said, «The manager said you can have it.» I thought, «Lord, thank You for keeping me out of prison.»
Little Things Matter
But here is my point: it is much better to be open and honest. I probably could have walked out of there with some silverware hidden—they may not have seen it—but here is the problem: God would have seen it. The scripture says, «It is the little foxes that spoil the vines.» I doubt many of you have big areas where you are lacking integrity, but maybe there are some small things.
The good news is it is not hard to correct it. It just takes a little effort—digging down deeper to do the right thing. It means getting out of ruts where we have gotten comfortable compromising and doing things that are less than our best.
David said in Psalm 101, «I will lead a life of integrity in my own home.» He was saying where nobody can see me, I am going to do the right thing. When I could slack off, compromise, give in to temptation, be dishonest—instead I am going to take the high road. I am going to be a person of excellence. I am going to show God He can trust me.
Private Integrity Determines Public Success
He went on to say, «I will not look at anything impure"—not going to watch things that poison me. Verse 3 says, «I will not have crooked dealings"—not going to get involved in things that are shady and underhanded, unethical. David was not perfect, but he made up his mind he was going to walk in integrity, starting in his own home, starting in his private life.
We can fool a lot of people in public, but what God is concerned with is what goes on behind closed doors. The scripture talks about the hidden man of our heart—that is our motives, what we do in secret. How you live in private will determine how high you go in public.
People may not be watching, but God is watching. Do not take that as something negative—"Man, I am going to get caught; I am in trouble.» Take it as a challenge. God is watching to see when He can promote you. He is waiting to see when you pass these tests so He can take you to new levels.
Prosperity Follows Integrity
I wonder how much higher we would go, how much more favor and promotion we would see, if we would deal with the areas that we know are holding us back. Start making things right. Have integrity in your finances, in your relationships, in how you treat people.
«After all, I did not want to hear about integrity today; I wanted to hear about prosperity.» You will never have prosperity if you do not first have integrity. The two go hand in hand.
I was at a music store with Jonathan when he was ten years old, buying some equipment for his guitar. When I went to pay, the man told me that Lakewood had an account there and we could put it on that account. I told him that this was personal and I did not want to do that.
He gave me the bill, and the tax on it was twenty dollars. He said, «At least let me put this under Lakewood’s name; that way you will not have to pay the tax. Lakewood is a church, and churches are tax-exempt.» I said, «Thanks so much, but no, I want to pay the tax too. This is totally personal.»
The Tax Story and Trust
He looked at me so strange, kind of shook his head, like, «Man, you are way overboard. Nobody would know you did not pay the tax. My company would not know, the church would not know, the IRS would not know.» What he did not realize is someone was watching more important than all those he mentioned. The Most High God sees everything we do.
These are opportunities for us to pass the test. If God can trust me to be honest with twenty dollars, maybe He can trust me to handle twenty thousand or twenty million or two hundred million. I would hate to think I did not reach my destiny because of small things I was not honest in—small areas where I did not pass the test.
Sure, I could have saved twenty dollars, but what is that in comparison to having the blessing and favor of the Creator of the universe? When God can trust you, when you prove to Him that you are a person of integrity, there is no limit to how high He will take you.
Examples of Great Integrity
I saw this with my father. He was a man of great integrity. If there was the smallest question of something not being aboveboard, perfectly ethical, he would not have anything to do with it. Through the years, people would bring deals by: «Hey, you have got that big church, all those people. You can take advantage of it, make some extra funds.» But my father valued God’s blessing on his life more than what any person could come up with.
He taught me to have a high standard. If you do not feel good about something, you have to talk yourself into it, make excuses as to why it is okay—it is not worth it. You will never go wrong by taking the high road. Short term, I could have saved twenty dollars; long term, I may not be where I am.
Prove to God that He can trust you—that you will go the extra mile to do what is right. You may have to say no to some things that people do not understand—not do what all your coworkers do. Maybe they are fine with slacking off; they are okay with spending company money on personal things. Do not judge them—that is not our business—but do not become like them. Do not lower your standards. They are not going where you are going.
The Price of Destiny
You may not be able to do everything your family members do—watch what they watch, do business like they do business. There is a price to pay to become all you were created to be. If it was easy, anybody would do it. This takes people that have a made-up mind: «I am going to honor God. I am not going to compromise, take shortcuts, do things that are not ethical. I am not going to push people down to get an advantage. I am not going to be sloppy in my business dealings. I am going to be a person of integrity—trustworthy, honorable.» That is the kind of people God rewards.
Sometimes when we compromise and do things that are questionable, we think we are gaining an advantage with people—we are getting the upper hand. But when you walk in integrity, you are gaining an advantage with God. His favor on your life will take you further than any advantage with people.
You may have made mistakes in the past, not had integrity in certain areas—that is okay; we all have. My challenge is: start making things right. Let today be a new day. Do not go the next thirty years letting the same things hold you back.
Making Things Right
When my father was in his twenties, back in the 1940s, he bought two suits on credit from a store in Fort Worth. He had good intentions; he was planning on paying them back, but he got busy and things came up. He never did. Years went by, and he had forgotten about it.
One day he was driving through Fort Worth and suddenly he remembered. It bothered him that he had never paid that debt. He got in the phone book but could not find the name of the company. So he drove to the location, but they were closed down. The people next door said they had been out of business for many years.
He could have thought, «I did my best; I tried.» But he did not stop there. He found out who the owners were—they had passed away—but he was able to track down one of their children. He called this man—he was my father’s age—and explained that he owed them for two suits he did not pay for back in the 1940s.
The man said, «Sir, do not worry about it. We have been out of business; we are all doing fine.» My dad thanked him for being so gracious and said, «No, I still want to pay you.» He drove to his house and gave him a check with interest forty years later. No wonder God blessed my father. No wonder He took him higher and higher. It was not that he just had great talent; he had great integrity. He was determined to make things right.
God’s Protection Through Integrity
In Genesis chapter 20, Abraham and Sarah had just moved to a new city. Sarah was very beautiful, very striking. Abraham knew when the king saw her beauty, he would want to take her into his harem. He told Sarah, «Tell the king that you are my sister; that way he will not kill me just to get to you.»
Like he thought, the king sent word for Sarah, had her come to the palace. One night the king had a dream. God said to him, «Why have you taken a married woman into your family?» The king said, «God, what do you mean? Abraham said she was his sister. She told me Abraham was her brother. In the integrity of my heart I have done this.»
God said in verse 6, «Yes, I know you are innocent. Because of your integrity, I have kept you from touching her. Now return her to Abraham.» This king was about to make a mistake, get off course, step out of God’s favor. But because of his integrity—because he was trustworthy, honorable—God kept him from what he could not see on his own.
Proverbs 2 says, «God is a shield to those who walk in integrity. He guards their path and watches after them.» Like this king, there are mistakes you could have made—wrong turns, compromise—but because of your integrity, God stepped in and closed the door. He kept you from the trouble. He is guarding your path.
The Shield of Integrity
Some of the temptation that you resisted—it was not that you were so strong; it was not that you just decided to say no—that was God holding you back. There is a blessing on your life that protects you, guards you, when you honor God.
David talked about it: «God keeps my foot from dashing against a stone. God will not let my enemies triumph over me.» When you walk in integrity, God has a shield around you. He is keeping fiery darts from hitting you. He is pushing back darkness. He is not letting the temptation overtake you. He is closing doors that would be harmful.
If you want to keep that shield up, keep your integrity. Be trustworthy, be honorable, a person of your word—be somebody that can be counted on.
There was a very wealthy man who had a friend who was a builder. This builder had been down on his luck and had not had much business. The man felt sorry for him and decided to help him out. He gave him a set of plans with a check for two hundred thousand dollars.
The Builder’s House Story
He said, «I want you to use these funds to build me a new house. You handle all the details; just call me when you are done.» He assured him he would pay him very well if he would do a good job. This builder was so excited that he finally had some work. But he got to thinking: if he would cut a few corners a little bit here, save a little here, save a little there, he could pocket some of that money without anybody knowing about it.
So he went out and found the cheapest concrete he could find, had the workers water it down so it could go further. He saved several thousand dollars on the foundation. He bought the cheapest lumber—some of it was old, crooked, warped. He did not care; it was going to be behind the walls. Nobody would see it.
He got the cheapest plumber, cheapest electrician—on and on, right and left cutting corners, pocketing the money. When he finished, he had saved nearly forty thousand dollars. He was so happy. He called the owner over to look at the new house. The owner was very impressed; it looked beautiful on the outside. You could not tell he had cut corners.
This builder could not wait to see how much he was going to get paid. He knew the owner was a very generous man. The owner said, «You know, I do not really need a new house. I have a beautiful one. I just wanted to help you out.» He handed him the keys and said, «Here—you just built your own house.» The builder nearly passed out. He thought, «If I had known it was going to be mine, I would have built it a whole lot better.»
Building Your Own House
We may not realize it, but we are building our own house. We can cut corners here, compromise there—it is not hurting anyone except ourselves. Everything may look fine on the outside. What matters is what is happening on the inside. Are we watering down our foundation? Not being trustworthy in commitments? Slacking off at the office?
What kind of materials are you putting into your house? I am asking you to be a person of integrity—do the right thing when nobody is watching. Do not let small things keep you from the big destiny God has in store. Start passing these tests. Be honorable, trustworthy, a person of your word.
If you will do this, I believe and declare, because you walk in integrity, God is going to have a shield around you. He is going to keep you from making major mistakes. You are not only going to be protected, but you are going to see promotion, good breaks, new levels—the fullness of your destiny, in Jesus' name.