The Man of Integrity

[MaryBeth]

“Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and whose spirit there is no guile.” (Psalms) The definition of “guile” is – deceit, craft, cunning, duplicity. Haven’t we proved this statement to be true in our own lives? Isn’t it refreshing to have contact with someone who has a clear look, no hidden agenda, who is exactly what he appears to be? It is also essential and liberating to be that expression ourselves! This verse from Psalms reminds me of Mrs. Eddy’s passages on the “man of integrity” (pages 147-148 Mis Wr) which reads in part, “He assumes no borrowed appearance. He seeks no mask to cover him, for he acts no studied part; but he is indeed what he appears to be, – full of truth, candor, and humanity. In all his pursuits, he knows no path but the fair, open, and direct one, and would much rather fail of success than attain it by reproachable means. He never shows us a smiling countenance while he mediates evil against us in his heart. We shall never find one part of his character at variance with another.”

[Susanne]

This is such an important point. I never really paid attention to this term “guile” until fairly recently. My husband pointed out that a certain someone “had no guile”… and I realized at that point what that truly meant. I think I was never taught in Sunday School about this and it certainly would have been helpful. I learned it the hard way, by experience; at one point I was working with a lot of guile to get my way, and ended up going through a lot of tribulation to have it finally burned out of me. I had no backbone at the time and was easily taken in by others who had guile–and the result was disastrous.

Nowadays it’s just the opposite–I can smell a rat! And I can also discern a man of integrity. It is thanks to the teaching at Plainfield, that I have developed a much greater spiritual sense of things. I’m so grateful for that!

[Author]

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