Where was the integrity is what 'We The People' must demand as a Virtue Under God within all political suggests and media group conclusions.

Among other definitions, Webster describes integrity as “soundness of moral character.” Integrity from a biblical viewpoint has to do with being morally sound. What does it mean to be morally sound? A person with integrity knows what is important to God and consistently lives in light of what is important to Him.

It involves more than living our values; it involves subscribing to God’s values and with His help learning to conform our conduct to those values. Integrity is like the foundation of a house, if it is unstable, the entire house may come apart when it comes under pressure.

Integrity is the basic element of Christian character. It is the first characteristic of those welcomed into God’s presence (Psa.15:2). It is the first characteristic that distinguishes godly leadership: “So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them with his skillful hands” (Psa. 78:72) Integrity is not determined by circumstances, based on credentials and is not to be confused with reputation. A person with the integrity of heart is a morally and spiritually healthy individual.

A person’s reputation is only the shadow of his character – in some cases the shadow (reputation) may appear larger or smaller than the actual height (character) of the person. A good reputation may or may not be an accurate reflection of a person’s character. A good reputation is as good as gold but a person with integrity owns the gold mine. If you take care of your character and become a person of integrity, your reputation will take care of itself.

Integrity has to do with a sense of consistency between a person’s inner values and attitudes and his outward words and actions. The more consistent we are, the higher the degree of integrity we possess. A good biblical example of integrity is Daniel (5:13-17). Daniel’s values, words and actions were thoroughly consistent. You can’t put a price tag on integrity because genuine integrity is not for sale.

Integrity helps us know what to expect from others. The more consistent a person is, the more confidence we have in how they will act in the future. An unpredictable leader suggests that they are not making decisions on the basis of deeply held biblical values but on how they may feel at the moment. It is hard, if not impossible, to trust such people. People will trust those who have proved themselves to be trustworthy.

A lack of integrity may take one of four different forms

Inconsistency between a person’s words and actions (saying one thing and doing another). Verbal inconsistency expresses itself as a lack of honesty (Acts 5:1- 10). Honesty is without question an absolutely essential quality of leadership.
Inconsistency between one’s actions on one side and against one’s words and values on the other. This inconsistency comes across as a lack of courage to act according to his values (Mk.14:29-32, 66-72).
Inconsistency between one’s values on one side and one’s words/actions on the other. This political syndrome results from saying/doing what we think others want to hear in order to please them.
Inconsistency in every area – no consistency/integrity among a person’s values, words and actions. Such a person is out of touch with himself and reality; he is not functioning in the real world.

The common denominator in all these different forms of a lack of integrity is simply: inconsistency. We all have values we live by whether we are conscious of them or not. Our values energize our motives that drive our actions. The important thing is that we consciously choose to live by God’s values in Scripture. People with high integrity have high values and live by them.

All godly leaders have a clear sense of biblical values that gives guidance regarding how to relate to God, ourselves and others. We must seek to relate to each other in humility and love. We need to learn to listen, speak the truth in love, persuade, build consensus, handle disagreement, forgive, receive correction, confess sin, appreciate the concept of collective wisdom and understand the point of view – even with people with whom we disagree. Proverbs 10:9 says, “He who walks in integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.”

How can we develop and maintain integrity?

Integrity is developed as we learn and practice certain skills:

The first skill is learning to develop a deep personal honesty through radical self-confrontation. A person of integrity does not make excuses or blame others for his short-comings.
If we would become persons of integrity we must first develop the proper moral stands. Since God is the source of morality, the proper moral standards are based on His character as revealed in His Word and reinforced in our consciences by the Holy Spirit.
If we would become persons of integrity, God’s standards must become our standards; His values must become our values; we must learn to love what He loves and hate what He hates.
In order to do this we must learn “the fear of the Lord” – we must develop a healthy respect for God. “The fear of the Lord” teaches us to love what is good and hate what is evil (Rom. 12:13). God’s Word must be effectively assimilated in our heart, mind and conscience so that it will influence our thoughts, words, actions and attitudes.
Next, to become persons of integrity we need to realize that we can’t live the Christian life in our own strength. We need God’s enablement; therefore must learn how to be controlled by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). In order to be controlled by God’s Spirit we must submit ourselves to God. We need to allow God to make the final decision for us based on His wise and loving Word.
If we wish to be persons of integrity we must develop genuine humility. What you see is what you get. We are not pretending to be some one we are not. A humble person is a realistic, teachable person.
Finally, if we would become persons of integrity, we must learn the wisdom of being personally accountable to others for our moral and spiritual development. It takes others to bring out the best in us and we all need accountability partners that serve as an encouragement and a reality check.

Americans have expressed their frustration with Washington and its elected officials in myriad ways. Yet there are things that can be done to ensure that institutions are clean and that taxpayer dollars are spent in alignment with the public's concerns and not just with special corporate and elite interests.

The findings of the US Corruption Barometer 2017 reinforce this message.

America needs actions – not just words – towards a cleaner and more open government.

1. TRANSPARENCY IN POLITICAL SPENDING:

Make all spending on politics genuinely transparent, with:

- real-time information accessible in online, machine-readable form to the public

- transparency on political spending by publicly traded companies

- transparency to the public on every level of influence, from political ad campaigns, to lobbying, to bundled campaign contributions.

2. PREVENTION OF REVOLVING DOORS:

Stop the unchecked exchange of personnel among corporations, lobbyists and our elected and high-level government officials.

3. ESTABLISHING WHO OWNS WHAT:

End the use of anonymous shell companies, which can be a source of conflict of interest and/or vehicles for illicit activity.

4. STRENGTHENING THE ETHICS INFRASTRUCTURE:

Reinforce the independence and oversight capabilities of the Office of Government Ethics.

5. PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS:

Improve and implement laws and regulations to protect the whistleblowers who expose corruption and other misconduct by the government and its contractors.