When I do’s become I don’ts

By Apostle Frederick K.C. Price

The following is an excerpt from Apostle Price's book, Integrity: The Guarantee for Success

How often do you hear those engaged to be married make comments such as, "I really love my fiancé, more than life itself. So and so is my dream; all that my heart has longed for." They cannot wait to say "I do," and then it seems that before you know it they cannot wait to say "I don’t."

The reason there are so many divorces today is because people typically say "I do" until the challenges come. They do not want to stand and pay the price. They do not want to be inconvenienced, which tells me that they were never really committed. Standing takes commitment -- the kind of commitment that comes from having a deep conviction.

It is easy to spout off and say you are committed to something when there is no pressure. But the true test is when the challenges start. This is when reality is revealed. You can never know whether you are acting from a deep and steadfast principle until that principle is challenged, and if you are never challenged, you never really know how deeply you believe it.

People will only stand and fight for what they truly believe in and are committed to. The three Hebrew boys said that even if their God did not deliver them, they would not bow down to the golden idol that the king had made. Daniel went to the lions’ den rather than cease praying and worshipping his God. If something is important enough to you, then you will do whatever it takes to see your way through the circumstances. You will pay the consequences. Incidentally, this is when you find out whether you really ascribe to the standard you have set for yourself. This is where the rubber meets the road. I point this out because where there is no possibility of its loss, integrity cannot exist. Integrity is something that is proven.

For instance, I have heard people say, "I believe in telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth." But when their bank mistakenly credits them with an extra $100, they take advantage of this mistake. They rationalize what they know to be wrong by telling themselves "What’s $100 to the bank? They have more money than I do." People with this kind of attitude are only fooling themselves. This is not integrity; they are not standing for what is right. In fact, without realizing it, they have just put a price tag on something that is supposed to be priceless – their integrity.

Integrity causes you to stand when everyone else is seated. It is not a game of musical chairs. If you are a person of integrity, you will be willing to bear the challenges to your convictions even when it is difficult and the consequences are unpleasant. You will not change your stand because of the circumstances. Like Daniel and the three Hebrew boys, what is happening around you is irrelevant and immaterial, since it is beneath your dignity not to stand for what you believe.

Everything in life has a price tag. You are going to pay one way or another. Either you pay in terms of the consequences that you endure when taking a stand for what is right, or you pay in terms of forfeiting the benefits that come from doing what is right.