Leading with Integrity
- Mark Hobafcovich
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.” (Proverbs 11:3)
As a leader, you are always making decisions. This is true if you are a parent leading a family, a manager leading a team, or a pastor leading a church. Some choices are small, like how to answer an email. Others are huge and can affect your children, your employees, or your whole community for years. In a world full of hard choices, what helps you decide? Do you just do what feels right? Do you do what’s popular? Or do you look for the quickest way to succeed? There are many leadership books out there, but the Bible gives us a guide that is simpler and more powerful. It’s not a complicated plan. It’s a character trait. It’s integrity.
So, what is integrity? The word "integrity" comes from a Latin word, “integer”, which means "whole" or "complete." A great way to understand this is to think of a bridge. We often see signs on a bridge with a warning that it can only hold a certain tonnage, and I'm grateful that the bridge tonnage is announced well before I drive on that bridge. That number represents the structural integrity of the bridge, the amount of weight and stress it can handle before it breaks. A person of integrity is like a well-built bridge. They are "structurally sound" on the inside because they are consistent, honest, and have strong moral principles. Who they are in private is the same as who they are in public. Their words match their actions. The opposite of integrity is hypocrisy, saying one thing but doing another. It’s being two-faced or inconsistent. Integrity is about being a whole, undivided person, and this wholeness is what makes a leader trustworthy.
The verse we started with shows us two paths and two results. One path is guided by wholeness. The other path is marked by dishonesty and leads to ruin. The first part says, “The integrity of the upright guides them.” Having lived in Australia for part of my young adult life, I learned about the Southern Cross. It’s a constellation well known and used in many ways for navigation in the Southern Hemisphere. In the dark of night, a traveler can look to that fixed point in the sky to find their bearing and stay on course. In the same way, when you are committed to being honest and whole, your integrity acts as a fixed point. When you face confusing decisions or feel lost in a moral fog, your integrity provides an unchanging reference point to guide you toward what is right. A leader without integrity is like a traveler navigating by shifting clouds, they will be led in circles and never find their true destination. Integrity is the constant star that keeps you on the right path.
The second half of the verse gives a serious warning: “…but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.” This tells us that a lack of integrity is not a small problem; it’s a destructive one. "Crookedness" means twisted or dishonest, the opposite of being whole. A leader who lacks integrity is like that poorly constructed bridge. It might look fine from a distance, but it can’t endure stress. When the weight of responsibility, temptation, or difficult times is placed upon it, it cracks and collapses. In the same way, a lack of integrity breaks the trust of your children, your employees, and your church, because they learn they cannot place their weight on you and most importantly, it hurts your relationship with God. The same inconsistency a leader uses to get ahead will be the thing that causes them to fall.
In the end, leadership is not about having all the answers. It’s about having the integrity to hold the weight of your responsibilities. Proverbs 11:3 promises that if you let integrity be your guide, it will lead you safely. While dishonesty might look like an easy way out, it always leads to destruction. Choose integrity. It is the only guide that will never lead you the wrong way.
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Mark Hobafcovich, is a Kingdom catalyst, pastor, leader, and author of "Defector: A True Story of Tyranny, Liberty and Purpose" , a memoir chronicling his journey to becoming a disciple of Christ inspiring others to live a purposeful life.
