Integrity when no one is watching
A rich man in my country was asked to speak at a business conference and he stressed on integrity. So now I'm guessing everyone that came there sees integrity as what will make them wealthy.
Integrity is not something that will guarantee you money. Many of us are told to behave right because God is looking down on us but if God were not out there watching you, then it is up to a man to have his mind to decide what he should do or not do. When all the lights are off and it is dark in your room, are you going to start taking things that do not belong to you? That is the biggest problem we have. Some of us only do what is considered right because we are worried about what the police might do or that a neighbor may catch us doing something we should not do and the consequences will not be easy at all.
For three hours, a running tap at the rear of my home wasted water without anyone around to see it. I walked by but later felt guilty about this small act of neglecting it. I asked myself why I didn't just stop the tap flowing. It wouldn't add anything to my life if I helped and it wouldn't bring any consequences if I neglected.
I returned to the same place and decided to do the right thing and turn it off. Someone must have left it opened when the water stopped flowing.
It's quite a burden being honest and honest about it to yourself. You can choose to act morally when the last person leaves the office and leaves all the files open, but nobody will give you an award for that. That's the time where your true nature reveals itself.
So this rich man spoke on integrity in the context of business transactions and that you would build trust with partners and customers. But the integrity where you get nothing is what really shows your humanity.