Baxter is worried. Gas prices have increased significantly the past month. I heard in the news that a gallon on average rose 46 cents. Baxter doesn’t understand all the economics of oil price increases, but he does understand that if I have to spend more for gas, he may get less in treats. So he’s worried.
The price of oil affects so many things we use every day to get along in this world. Food, clothing, pharmaceuticals, household products are all more expensive when the price of oil rises. Oil lubricates more than our cars. It makes our world run smoothly. At this point in history, our everyday lives would probably stop in their tracks if oil, its refined products, and their many uses were no longer available to us. We would go back to a more primitive life style, less comfortable, convenient and connected throughout the world.
Integrity is the oil of our spiritual lives, and like the product that is often hidden in our physical existence, this virtue quietly supports and advances our lives of faith. However, it is a topic that we hear little about today. We are bombarded in the news with talk of justice and rights, of conflicting interests, and even of calls for compassion and clemency. But under it all is the need for integrity in our lives, and we don’t hear much about this key virtue.
Integrity (along with prudence, a topic for another day) is the source of know-how in our spirituality. If we have integrity, we know how to apply justice when different person’s rights are competing. If people of integrity sit down at the same table, they can get beyond their competing interests because they know that they are invested in each other. Integrity allows us to discern the difference between forgiveness and accountability and know that there is no contradiction between holding people responsible for their actions while never banishing them from our lives. Integrity tells us that we have a stake in each other’s life, and we can’t live as if what we do matters only to me and not us. It is not about what I have and you have, but what we hold together, and the most precious things in life are shared, not owned by anyone — love, creation, family, friends, God in Christ’s Spirit.
The word “integrity” means wholeness. It’s the virtue which brings life’s meaning all together at the center and applies it through all the ups and downs, blessings and sorrows life brings. It holds you together when you think you can’t take any more of the tension and pain. It fills out the pleasures of living by pointing them to a deeper goodness that is not fleeting. It lets you know you are not alone when you feel abandoned and betrayed. For the person of faith, integrity is rooted in God for He is the source of all that is, He made us in His image, and we are bonded together in Him as the Body of Christ. God made us to be whole, and His grace sustains our integrity. Sin breaks it apart.
Lent is a time to do an integrity check on ourselves. To make sure that there are no leaks, that we are using it efficiently when it is needed, and that we pay the price that is called for, even if we don’t like it. As we read in Luke’s Gospel, “What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?” No one can advance in the spiritual life without integrity rooted in their faith.
Without oil, our world stops. Without integrity, our spirits shrink from the deception, distrust and fear that tear us apart. Whatever the price, we cannot afford to forfeit this virtue for the sake of our shared humanity and its salvation by God. Pray for the know how to live a life of integrity.
Don’t worry, Baxter. There will still be treats at bedtime.
