Mark 12:14 “They came to Jesus and said, Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are, but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.” The first character trait of leadership is still, always has been and will forever be that of integrity. It is the foundation upon which spiritual and all leadership stands. It is who a man is when no one is looking and what a man will stand for when someone is looking.

In our verse today, even the enemies of Jesus recognized Him as a man of integrity. He was not swayed in His actions, behavior or leadership by who men were regardless of their power, prestige or position. He is the example of integrity that each of us should follow. Our behavior and leadership should always be consistent and absolute and not dependent on the status of people around us. We should act and lead the same with all people and not have one set of rules for those in power, prestige or position and another set for our family and neighbors.

A part of Jesus’ integrity was that He taught the way of God in accordance with the truth. This must be a part of our leadership in every area of life, starting with ourselves first, then family and work. The bottom line is that integrity is absolute truth. Absolute truth is only possible through Jesus. The word integrity also means “whole” and comes from the Greek word “integer,” meaning a whole number, not a fraction. So, this verse is simply saying to us that we must always lead as a man of integrity and not just a fraction of the time or according to the circumstances. A man can have no greater compliment than to be trusted and recognized as a man of integrity. Yes, integrity is still the issue and must never change.