Inner Work

For the week of May 30, 2005

Personal Integrity

Why does every religion embrace a code of morality? On the face of it we can see that society as a whole benefits enormously from the morality of individuals. We can live in relative peace instead of constantly watching our backs. Though the significance of this societal benefit of morality cannot be overestimated, another reason stands at least equal to it.

Religions are first and foremost about our relationship with the Divine. Through right action in our dealings with the world we place ourselves in a position to embody Divine action. This alignment of our own acts with the Divine Purpose can only come through our inner perception of that Purpose. That inner perception of the high Purpose comes through conscience. And the voice of conscience, for example in those inner twinges of discomfort with wrong action, falls mute unless we heed it. This chain brings us back to the reason we need to practice and protect our personal integrity. With a clear conscience we can walk the path of the spirit forthrightly and in peace. With a troubled and disappearing conscience, we lose our bearings and stumble.

Yet only the rarest of people make their way through life without lapses of judgment and damage to their integrity. For the rest of us, when we realize we have done the wrong thing, we pick ourselves up, make amends if possible, and renew our resolve to live in accordance with our own conscience.

The morality of religion and the laws of our governments are just the starting point, however, for integrity. With those as a foundation, we pursue a style of living that holds the mirror of conscience before all our actions, large and small. Through the channel of our personal integrity, we approach our true purpose and destiny in this life.

Often the question of right and wrong seems clear. Yet we find ourselves sorely tempted to take the unethical path. In speech we might stretch the truth, fail to say some true thing we should have said, or say more than we should. In the ongoing action of life, morally dubious situations abound and beckon. At other times, the ethics of a choice are murky and we descend into confusion. In both the obvious and the murky situations, only the force of our personal integrity, our self-respect, and the value we place on a clear conscience can steer us through the thickets of life.

If the voice of conscience is vague, we come back to our baseline of public morality and the laws we share. Indeed, to protect ourselves from fanaticism and believing we know God’s will, we test the promptings of conscience against ordinary morality, legality, and common sense. Conscience will not violate those. But conscience can guide us through regions not addressed by public morality. Conscience can guide us into becoming ourselves, into living our lives well, into fulfilling our unique destiny. A person of conscience is a person of integrity.

For this week, examine the state of your personal integrity. Notice the temptations to ignore what you know is right. Notice how you respond in those situations. And above all, notice the promptings of your conscience, your personal sense of right and wrong, propriety and impropriety.

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