Integrity
In Just a Thought, December 22nd, 2008
Have you ever considered the intersection of integrity and courage?
For truthfulness or honesty is always in abundance until there is a cost involved in truth telling. Then, only the courageous will pay the price.
Today what passes for integrity is “lawyer speak”…someone hired to prove that regardless of a common understanding…regardless of the plain intent, the fine print has provided a way out of fulfilling one’s honest commitment.
A friend once showed me a copy of a contract between General George Washington and a local contractor to build a bridge across the Potomac.
The contract was one page in length…because both parties fully understood the intent and were fully committed to providing the best possible result. There were no lawyers needed to “fine tune” the document.
To how many pages would a similar contract run today?
True integrity requires the courage to keep one’s commitments. An untrustworthy person lacking integrity is at his core a coward.
