Recently, I was on a Zoom call with a friend, and we started to talk about the WHY of Integrity. He asked me, Why do you think integrity is so important? I thought about how do I explain my passion and conviction to him in a memorable way. And here's what I said.

Think about your smartphone. They're pretty impressive. Sometimes I actually think my smartphone is smarter than I am. Now on my phone, I have dozens of apps. And these apps or applications are a software that has been designed and installed to run on my smartphone. Generally, an app has a specific, rather narrow function. And there are apps for food delivery, weather, games, entertainment, photo editing, shopping, business productivity, scheduling, communication, and so many more. And all of these run at my request.

Now, apps are different from my phones operating system. The operating system works as an interface between the user and the hardware. It handles a variety of tasks from directory creation, managing processes, deletion, and synchronization. It also allocates or deallocates memory space. It manages and controls the hardware. In effect, it prevents the system from off unauthorized access and secures data. My smartphone's entire functionality depends on the operating system.

Now, when I think about integrity, is it an app or an operating system? I think integrity is not an app. Integrity is the operating system. If integrity is like an app, you can turn it on and use it only as needed, it's optional. But if integrity is the operating system, then every aspect of life depends on it and it is essential. I think the idea was also expressed when I entitled my book, Integrity: The Best Foundation. You see, integrity is the operating system. Another way to think about it, it's the foundation. Proverbs 2 says, "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely. But he who makes his ways crooked will be found out."