Truly upright people are hard to come by these days. We’d like to think that people of integrity would return a lost wallet, stand up for someone being harassed, be honest in situations where others would cheat. But we all know it is the exception rather than the rule that these would be true.


We Christians are quick to assert that simply by walking in the footsteps of Jesus we can display an integrity that is unknowable in our own strength. Surely with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can be upright. Why, then, do we still stumble and fall? Why do we still find ourselves tumbling into situations we later regret? Our failures keep chasing after us. The picture of integrity seems to elude us.


This is so because true integrity and uprightness are embodied in only one person: Jesus Christ. That is why David declares that his hope is in Him! If hope had to be placed in our own ability to live respectably, we would have no hope at all. The imparted righteousness of Jesus upon His children is our preserving strength.