We have been in the sermon series called “The Keys to a Blessed Life,” based on Jesus’ Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. So far, through the five beautiful attitudes toward God, we have learned about God’s blessings upon those who are poor in spirit, meek, merciful, mourning, and hungering and thirsting for righteousness. When we possess these divine desires, God will provide His gifts, such as Heavenly joy, reward, mercy, comfort, and satisfaction – both in the present and in the Kingdom of Heaven in the future.

Today, we will explore the sixth sacred principle: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). According to this truth, we will see God when we have a pure heart in spirit. Seeing God in this scripture means being close to His presence and understanding the purposes of our lives in God. As a result, we will experience God’s power, peace, and pardon in our faith journey. To attain these blessings, our hearts in spirit need to be pure. One paraphrased version of the Bible, called The Message, beautifully describes this: “You’re blessed when you get your inside world – your mind and heart – put right. Then you can see God in the outside world” (Matthew 5:8). This translation suggests that being pure in heart can refer to becoming righteous or blameless, indicating a life of integrity. Living a life of integrity does not imply perfection but rather putting our complete trust in the Lord. Through this trust, God can transform our hearts in spirit. We may have more loving minds, more caring thoughts, more kind actions, and more peaceful emotions since God begins to transfer our hearts into His. The Lord our God is more interested in the direction of our hearts than our actions. God is more concerned with our attitudes toward Him than our achievements. Please understand that our actions and achievements are important. At the same time, caring for our hearts is also critical since everything originates from our minds. Both good and evil come from the same source – our hearts. That is why Jesus emphasizes the importance of having a heart of integrity in His Beatitudes. In the Bible, we can find many characters with pure hearts in spirit, including Noah, Moses, David, Paul, and more.

Before we look at the life of an individual recognized by God, I’d like to briefly to share the definition of integrity. According to the Bible, integrity is connected to the concept of wholeness. In other words, those with integrity have undivided hearts; they do not divide their hearts into many pieces. Instead, they have concentrated hearts toward God. In the first and greatest commandment, Christ commands us, as His followers, to love the Lord our God with all our hearts. Did we notice the word “all”? The term “wholeness” is frequently highlighted in the Bible to underscore the depth of our relationship with God. In John 3:16, we are reminded that God’s love extends to all people, regardless of our backgrounds. His love is incomprehensible as God gives each of us His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, who is all and everything to the Lord. Similarly, God wants us to love Him with all our hearts and with all our souls and with all our minds (Matthew 22:37-38). These essential items represent the entirety of who we are and all that we have. As Christ’s followers, we are encouraged to commit the wholeness of our lives or beings to the Lord.

The opposite of integrity is segregation. It can be a division of the heart. According to this concept, our spiritual hearts can be divided into many segments in life. We may say something like this: “I have a church life. I have a family life. I have a social life. I have a work-life or a school life. I have a secret life.” I have just named a few. However, as Christ’s followers, we are called to have one united life for God. All the areas in our hearts should be only placed in the presence of the Lord. This is what we can call an authentic heart in spirit.

In our Old Testament reading for today, we encounter a remarkable example of a person with a heart of integrity. The prophet Samuel was tasked with choosing the next leader for the nation of Israel. Despite numerous burnt offerings, the previous king, Saul, offered, God’s spirit departed from him as he lost his pure heart. The Lord sought a servant with a heart wholly dedicated to Him. When Samuel visited Jesse’s house, he was greeted by many of his sons. Initially, Samuel considered selecting a tall and good-looking person as a future leader for the people of Israel. He continued interviewing other qualified candidates, focusing on their outward qualities. However, God reminded Samuel of the significance of spiritual inwardness rather than outward qualities (1 Samuel 16:7). Ultimately, from God’s perspective, Samuel recognized David, the youngest son of Jesse, as a person after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). David was anointed and appointed him as ruler of God’s people (1 Samuel 13:14; 16:12). Please understand that the Bible does not condemn good looking people; in fact, David himself had “a fine appearance and handsome features” (1 Samuel 16:12). Being a person after God’s own heart does not mean living a sinless life. David was far from perfect due to his sinfulness. However, David was chosen by the grace of God as His servant. Later, David expressed how blessed he was and acknowledged that he lacked nothing because the Lord was his Shepherd (Psalm 23:1). This concept indicates the key blessing of a person with a heart of integrity or one who is close to God from the beatitude we explored earlier.

In our Psalm reading for today, King David presents to his audience the blessings he experienced during his faith journey. This represents dwelling in God’s presence and living in His Holy place, which includes quiet waters and green pastures (Psalm 15:1; 23:1-3). David guides them to become recipients of this sacred blessing with the statement, “The one whose walk is blameless; who does what is righteous” (Psalm 15:2). According to David, one of the keys to a blessed life is to be blameless or righteous – living a life of integrity before the Lord. This morning, let us briefly explore each of the foundations that David listed in this Psalm and apply them to our faith journey.

Firstly, we can cultivate integrity by keeping our promises. It can be considered the heart of trustworthy integrity. David shared that such a person would “speak the truth from their heart” (Psalm 15:2). Are we promise keepers or promise brokers? What commitments have we made to our loved ones? Have we made resolutions before the Lord since the year 2023 started? How are we making out with these determined decisions as we approach the end of this year? Many of us may have mixed feelings about the business of promises. Experiencing a broken promise from others often leads to broken relationships, a significant cause of distress. In this sin-darkened world, I have heard and seen people telling lies and hurting those around them with their deceitful minds. Unfortunately, these distressing stories unfold regularly as the influence of evil spirits affects people’s hearts. Circumstances can change, and unexpected challenges may arise in our daily lives. According to the Bible, “Who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind” (Psalm 15:4) describes a person with a heart of integrity.

Secondly, we can become people of integrity by paying our dues accordingly. It can be called the heart of financial integrity. Keeping our responsibilities can be applied to money matters in life. Using our money properly and responsibly is evidence of our financial integrity. As children of God, we are called to respect governing authorities (Romans 13:1-7). In a spiritual sense, these authorities are appointed through the will of the Lord to administer justice in our lives. In turn, we are encouraged, for instance, to fulfill our duty to pay taxes since the authorities serve as “God’s servants” (Romans 13:6). Some may argue that governing bodies lack integrity. In my opinion, it is crucial to trust these matters to God’s mighty hand and focus on consistently doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord. If we borrow money or items from others, it is our responsibility to repay them or return the borrowed items promptly. The financial integrity mentioned earlier should also extend to our offerings to the Lord and His Church. We need to acknowledge that everything we enjoy in our current circumstances comes from the Lord. God is the one giving power, wisdom, and endurance to us to accomplish what we have and what we are. Giving is an expression of our faith in God, who is the Provider of everything we possess and the Protector of everyone we love and care for. It is a reminder that we cannot serve two masters – our hearts cannot be divided between God and Money – because “where our treasure is, there our treasure will be also” (Matthew 7:19-24).

Thirdly, we can cultivate integrity by refusing to gossip. It can be considered the heart of relational integrity. David highlighted the importance of guarding our speech, stating, “Whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbour, and casts no slur on others” (Psalm 15:3). Have we, at times, spoken unfavourably about someone who is not present in our conversations with others? Regretfully, I must confess that my answer to this question is “Yes.” There have been instances where I shared opinions about the attitudes and behaviours of others who were not present. The concept of “confidentiality” is often stressed, with a house rule that what is said or heard in a meeting should stay private. Have we consistently upheld this principle in our walk with God? Due to our sinful human nature, we may find ourselves discussing others’ personal matters based on our assumptions. Engaging in gossip can harm others, whether intentional or unintentional, and we may also be hurt by untruthful comments from others. Recognizing the potential harm, King David sought to avoid such sins by keeping his tongue in control (Psalm 39:1) and asking God to “set a guard over his mouth” (Psalm 141:3). To maintain relational integrity, David prayed for the Lord’s help in controlling his tongue (Psalm 141:3). Without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we might misrepresent people and their situations or speak critically of those around us mistakenly. We must humbly and honestly ask God to help us be careful of what we say about others.

Fourthly, we can become people of integrity by giving our best effort at work. It can be called a heart of faithful integrity. King David acknowledged that God honours “those who fear the Lord” (Psalm 15:4). One aspect of fearing the Lord is fully dedicating ourselves before Him to whatever tasks are assigned to us. Do we consistently give our best in the duties entrusted to us, whether they are small or significant?

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus spoke about the rewards for individuals who were faithful in handling even small responsibilities. He commended those with a heart of faithful integrity and blessed them by entrusting them with greater responsibilities (Matthew 25:21,23). Christ values our efforts, even in tasks that may seem small when we dedicate our best to Him. In our Epistle reading, the Apostle Paul instructs his readers in their work relationships. A divine guideline relates to employees’ attitudes toward their work. They are supposed to “serve wholeheartedly” as if working for the Lord, not merely for human supervisors (Ephesians 6:5-8). Our vocation, whatever it may be, is a calling from God. Each of us has been blessed with various talents and gifts to use for God’s glory in this world. While we may have earthly bosses at work, as followers of Christ, our ultimate boss is the Master who recognizes and rewards all our efforts for noble purposes.

Although those around us may not completely understand our pure intentions or the extent of our hard work, God, our Creator, sees everything, and our deeds are eternally recorded in the Heavenly Rewarding Book. Are we giving our very best, whether our work is acknowledged or not, whether we are on the front line or behind the scenes? Are we fully utilizing our God-given time, opportunities, and resources for the glory of God in our daily lives? When we invest one hundred percent of our hearts into whatever we have been entrusted to do, our attitude signifies that we fear the Lord – another expression of a heart of integrity. As servants of Christ, once we diligently and cheerfully commit all our beings to the Lord rather than just to people, we can positively influence the entire community.

In conclusion, if we consistently follow the principles listed by King David above, we will never be shaken. We can live a life of integrity with courage and confidence. The challenge lies in how, as imperfect and sin-prone individuals, we can meet these requirements. This was the same question David struggled with in his faith journey. One day, he pondered, “How can a young person stay on the path of purity?” (Psalm 119:9). The answer he discovered was living according to the Word of God. Consequently, David kept the Word in his heart and sought God with unwavering determination (Psalm 119:10-11). In his daily devotion to the Lord, David used the spiritual mirror of God’s word to examine himself. When he repented of his sins, he cried out to the Lord to “create in him a pure heart” and renew “a steadfast spirit” within him (Psalm 51:10). In other words, David wanted God’s intervention to grant him a heart of integrity for his faith journey. David’s humble and honest requests presented before the Lord became the reasons why God recognized him as a person after His own heart.

Friends, God understands our sincere desire to have a pure heart in spirit. The Lord is also aware of our shortcomings in maintaining a heart of integrity in different areas. Many of us struggle to keep promises to the Lord and those around us. Many of us are challenged to manage our possessions in a godly manner. Many of us struggle to control our words with others. Many of us are challenged to give our best to tasks given to us. Sometimes, we may even wear masks, pretending before people, rather than being genuine before the Lord. As we approach the upcoming Advent season, God invites each of us to come to Him just as we are, seeking a heart of integrity. Saint Augustine once remarked that confessing our sins is the starting point of God’s renovation project, transforming us into people after His own heart. When we humbly repent of our mistakes, failures, and shortcomings, God not only forgives us but also reveals Himself through His presence, protection, and provision in our ongoing spiritual journey. God delights in our sincere effort to have His righteousness and live a life of integrity. Moreover, He is happy to enable us to experience heavenly joy in our hearts and extend an invitation into His presence – His Kingdom – when we are called to be with Him. Amen!

*In this sermon, I’ve been inspired by the teachings of Pastor Rick Warren as well as various messages based on the following texts: 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 15:1-5; Matthew 25:14-21; Ephesians 6:1-8.