In my life, like most people today, I have many roles and I wear many hats. I have a husband hat, a father hat, a pastor hat, a teacher hat and I even have a football referee’s hat that I put on several times a week. The challenge that I have is how to keep my Christian faith consistent regardless of the hat that I am wearing, or the circumstance in which I find myself.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the word “integrity.” One definition I heard is that integrity means “doing what is right when no one is looking.” I would like to add something to that definition. It not only means doing what is right when no one is looking, but doing what is right when 4,000 people are looking. Integrity means displaying the same honest, authentic Christian character no matter what the situation – in front of my wife and kids, in front of a stadium full of high school football fans, or when I know only God sees. My Christian walk and talk must be consistent.

The first part of that definition says integrity is “doing what is right.” If on some Friday night four football officials each officiated the game according to what they personally thought was right there would be major chaos. Each one of us would be making up the rules as we went along to suit our own opinions and feelings. As a referee fairness and consistency in applying the rules is very important. We go to great lengths to know the rules and apply them justly in every game situation. We are constantly reviewing the rule book to make sure that we’re doing it right.

As a pastor, I study the scripture diligently to make sure that what I say in a sermon is consistent with what God says. Because it’s not so important what I think is right, but what the Bible says is right. So the next step is to make sure that what God’s Word is saying is what I am doing. I believe that I forfeit my authenticity as a Christian if what I say on Sunday is not what I do Monday through Saturday. It’s easy to be authentic on Sunday, but integrity is living right every day of the week. That really is a challenge and one that I’m not going to accomplish apart from God’s help.

It is very challenging to be authentically Christ-like when a coach is yelling at you for some call that you made or didn’t make. It’s just as challenging to display love and respect toward a church member who is openly critical of something you said or didn’t say. Perhaps the greatest challenge though, is to maintain the right spirit and attitude in front of our family, because they see us at our best and at our worst.

So, how do we maintain integrity in all of life? By daily going to the “Good Book,” where it says, “I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own. Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other. Try your best to let God’s Spirit keep your hearts united.” Ephesians 4:1-3.

We also maintain integrity by daily trusting God, because we’ll never make it in our own strength.