Doing v Being

Yesterday after the Asbury Chapel Dr. Mulholland asked how the family was and I gave him a few tid-bits of joy and concern. His response was simple: "We'll be praying for you." I knew that's what he would say. It's what he's always said. It's the consistency of his character. And I know he will pray. He is genuine, consistent, dependable, human and imperfect but he has integrity.


The world loves people like him. The world needs people like him. People of integrity aren't out for themselves and you know it. They aren't blowing smoke. They are genuine. You know that they care. It's not about what they do but about who they are that speaks to our hearts. Integrity isn't about following a code of conduct. It's much deeper than that.


In his book Integrity: the courage the meet the demands of reality, (remember the link to www.abebooks.com for a used bookstore search engine. I found this book for $1. plus $3.50 shipping). Henry Cloud pulls together two terms that when I look at them now, of course they are related. I would have never gotten there! To have integrity means to have a integrated character as opposed to a divided life.


Integrity is a book about growth, having a character that is always growing, moving forward, adding value. It requires, Cloud surmises, an integrated character:

"the opposite of integration is compartmentalization. That means that a part of oneself can be operating without the benefit of other parts, and that spells trouble. You have known people who love, for example, without the benefit of judgment and reality testing. Or people who are creative, but without the benefit of being structured or organized. Or those who can be

proactive and take risks, but can't delay when they need to. They are impulsive.

Strengths turn into weaknesses without the other parts of a person to balance them out.

In fact, historically the word diabolical actually means  "to compartmentalize." Things go 'bad' when they are out of balance and integration. The person  of  'integrity' is a person of balanced integration of all that character affords."  (p. 36-37)

People of integrity can look at the numbers of a pet-project and make the necessary changes. They are married to results not the project. People of integrated character can have the difficult conversation with a direct report and stay separate from the emotion of the moment, keeping the issue the issue. It comes not from the skills you have or the things you do but from the core of who you are. Being v Doing.


The 6 character dimensions of Integrity are:

1. Establishing Trust
2. Oriented Toward Growth
3. Getting Results
4. Embracing the Negative
5. Oriented Toward Increase
6. Oriented Toward Transcendence

This book is going to take a lot of work to go back through. I'm probably going to type up the quotes and lists I've highlighted as my way of internalizing more of it. There's one topic that I really think I need to to some work on and I have this urge to blog about it but I'm not sure I want to. It's an area of failure that I've recognized - not total or complete but definitely not healthy. I'll write and maybe I'll post it but regardless it will be some productive work.


What kind of work do you need to do on your character? What would people say is consistent about your character? What would you like them to say? Where are the gaps that you recognize? What are the consistent patterns you see in the rear view mirror of your life, patterns that you don't like or aren't healthy? Do something. Talk with someone about it. Journal. Get into a small group. Read. Do something. Press on.


"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:12-14)