There are many ways of describing the meaning of the word integrity. All these explanations have almost the same meaning, that is, there are little or no differences in them. In an effort to explain the meaning of the word integrity, we should note that this word tries to explain the positive behavior of human beings who possess it. According to my own opinion, integrity means having principles of your own that give you freedom from being controlled and that guide you to do whatever that is best for you. Integrity also means doing whatever is considered to be morally upright and being responsible (Kelvin 2).
In order to learn much about integrity, we need to ask ourselves where it originates in our lives. We need to know whether someone is born with integrity or whether we possess it as we grow. Most of the religious leaders, especially Christians, think that integrity comes from God. They mostly refer to this by teaching about King Solomon, who was seen to be full of integrity and wisdom (Dwight 5). According to me, the level of integrity depends on how one is brought up in the society. Since we have associated integrity with morality, it is also important to point out that good morals start from the family (Kelvin 3). Your parents teach you good moral behaviors and once you mingle in the society, your behaviors will tell whether your parents taught you good morals or not.
A person who has integrity possesses a couple of qualities that are needed in the society. For instance, a person with integrity should be one who is honest, truthful and free from any immoral behavior. A person preaching one thing and doing the opposite cannot be said to be having integrity. A person with integrity should be in a position to act and not just talk (Kelvin 3). We can also give an example of someone with integrity by looking at a boy who goes to a shop and buys a cake costing 20dollars. The boy gives out 100 dollars and the shopkeeper mistakenly gives the boy 180 dollars instead of 80 dollars. If the boy is honest, he will return the extra amount given to avoid feeling guilty.
Integrity is very important in our day to day lives. It makes people to trust us and to believe in us (Dwight 6). If your parent thinks that you have integrity, he will trust you with his money without fear of any loss. In most work environments, people with integrity receive heavy rewards for being honest and straight-forward. Integrity has also made those who possess it to gain a good reputation in the society.
On the other hand, people with integrity also face some challenges. A manager will give a heavy work load to workers who have integrity. This manager will not give heavy load to workers who do not have integrity. The other limitation of integrity is that it is difficult to know a person who has integrity and one who doesn’t have. This is because of the emergence of pretenders who pretend to be honest and truthful. People believe these people and they end up being deceived by them (Kelvin 4).
In conclusion, we can argue that integrity can be a good avenue to promote unity and cooperation in our society. If everyone did the right thing and possessed a high degree of honesty, there would be less quarrels and fights in our society. With this happening, there would be harmony and the money that was previously used in preventing and controlling wars would be ploughed into economic development. In addition, leaders with integrity will be more focused on social welfare improvement and economic development.
Works Cited
Kelvin, Silverstag. ``Virtue Essay: Integrity” Broomfield Publishers.2011.Print.
Dwight, McDonald. ``A Case Study Of Great Responsibility” Reluctant Habits Publishers.2011.Print.
