But It Begins with Systemic Integrity…
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Pastor Bob Henry
May 21, 2023
Good morning, Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections from First Friends. Our scripture for this morning is from Philippians 4:8-9 from The Message version.
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
Last week, I used a term that has had many of us talking – actually, Jim Kartholl told me it was the main topic of discussion last Sunday with those who stayed to consider my message.
That term was “Systemic Goodness.” What early Friends called the “transforming power of love.”
What I have learned this week in all the conversations I have had and the feedback I have received is that there is more to Systemic Goodness than we may first think. To be able to grow sustain, and perpetuate systemic goodness, we must first be people of integrity – and I would go as far as saying,
“To have systemic goodness, we FIRST must have systemic integrity.”
To explain what I mean, I am going to borrow some ideas from Richard Uglow of Enrich You from an article he wrote about Systemic Integrity.
But even before I do that, I want to start with some definitions – because I believe part of the problem, today, is that we do not know what all we are talking about when we talk about integrity. Just because, for us Quakers, Integrity is one of our S.P.I.C.E.S. or testimonies doesn’t automatically make it something we are good at or even recognize as important.
The English Dictionary describes the word integrity in the somewhat 2D words of ‘moral uprightness, completeness, wholeness, soundness and honesty’. The Thesaurus moves into a more 3D positioning by describing integrity as ‘incorruptibility’, ‘togetherness’ and perhaps in a more systemic context ‘oneness or unity’.
On Quaker.org it comes straight-out, and claims integrity is hard to define, but then says this:
At a more fundamental level, living in integrity means accepting accountability for one’s actions, and repenting when one has done harm to others. It means honoring “that of God” in other people, which includes treating everyone with dignity—and with an open mind. You may not always agree with someone, but you can disagree, no matter how firmly, with respect.
Richard Uglow made it hit closer to home when he said,
“When any of us engage with the idea, let alone the choice to behave with integrity, the challenges begin. We have to face ourselves. And, in facing ourselves, we usually find that none of us are yet ‘the finished article’.”
There is a humility with integrity that must be foundational for goodness and love to truly grow. And along with humility always comes risk. We don’t like to be humbled.
Actually, our world often downplays humility which makes it even more of a risk. To realize we are not the “finished articles” can sometimes leave us living lives that are mediocre, unchallenged, isolated, or even myopic. All growing problems in our world, today.
Where most of us become challenged with our humility is where other people are involved – because selfishness does not take much humility or risk.
Even most of the famous historical quotes about integrity seem to position the quality of integrity as a personal quest; integrity being some kind of high ideal of character, life quality, life mission or life compass.
But looking at integrity through those lenses makes it have a “black and white” reality to it - “either you have it or you don’t”. Individually that may seem to work, but we are not just individuals.
We are communal people – connected to one another – families, communities, Meetings, pickleball clubs, book groups, business networking teams, AA meeting, etc…we are all about connecting with other people.
Just think about it or better yet let’s ponder some queries that I adapted from Richard Uglow:
· What happens in a community of people if lack of integrity is the cultural norm that is allowed to prevail?
· What happens to a community of people when half the individuals choose integrity, and the other half don’t?
· What happens to a community when leaders, directors, and authorities behave selfishly, with power and for personal gain at the expense of those they serve, and justify their action as just societal norms that they assume are accepted by everyone?
I could easily just say – look around you – or turn on the news.
I strongly believe integrity is the most impactful and powerful when it is lived out within relationships, within communities, and within societies.
Yet, when we choose integrity when dealing with our neighbors, family, and friends, it also means we choose to be “powerless” – again there is sacrifice like I talked about last week. The sacrifice is so those around us may also flourish and grow along with us. That is part of the humility and risk I was talking about earlier.
To create systemic integrity means we have a choice to make – will it be simply for my gain – that is the individual part. Or will it be a decision that will impact those we interact with, live with, and love. A huge part of integrity itself is coming to accept and understand this collective dimension of life.
It seems like it should be a no-brainer that we would want to choose integrity as a best practice. This was Jesus’ charge to us – love your neighbor AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF. Let’s be honest - most of us are not good at following this charge. We have been taught from early on that our success and survival is the key – thus the reason why integrity cannot simply be about personal integrity – again that is where it starts but it must translate from our personal lives to living out integrity in our world – that is loving your neighbor as you love yourself.
The sad reality in our world today is that we simply do not trust or respect each other anymore. And those who are living under people without integrity have lost the power or authority to make the authorities change or mature in their integrity.
This is why people leave jobs, leave relationships, even leave Quaker Meetings, because it is easier and safer to move on, than to confront the dysfunction, corruption, and lack of integrity of someone in a place of power and authority.
Integrity and trust must go hand and hand.
Yet, please hear me on this…You and I are not powerless nor helpless.
You and I can offer the path of integrity as a better way. Yes, it will take some humility, some risk, and a lot of trust. But, as Quakers, You and I can agree to live out a testimony of integrity within our daily lives with our neighbors. (As the Mandalorian would say, “This is the Way.”) In our testimony of Integrity it says,
Integrity is the way many members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) testify or bear witness to their belief that one should live a life that is true to God, true to oneself, and true to others.
Early Quakers took this testimony and built frameworks or what today we would call “best practices” for family, Meeting, community, and even societal life. They realized, as we should still in our day, that integrity requires that we always do the right thing for the common good – self, family, working family and human family – by design, when no-one is watching us, in our darkest hour and in all our day-to-day dealings.
When we again come around a common testimony of integrity, then we are actively walking in the direction of systemic integrity no matter one’s education, culture, economic status, race, sexual/gender identity, or religious beliefs (and I could list more, but that would be a good start).
More and more, I hear the voices of our Millennials and Gen Z-ers crying foul and calling out us older generations for failing to address the corruptions and the lack of integrity by saying to us, “Shame on you!” And asking, “Why have you not addressed or called out this disease in our families, politics, workplaces, economics, environmental and religious institutions?” And they are not just crying out – they are getting educations, becoming vocal activists, and working for systemic and real change.
These generations are making me ask the following queries:
· Have we lacked the courage to be people of integrity?
· Have we been blindly accepting and complicit in the lack of integrity in our day?
· How are we creating and modeling systemic integrity at First Friends? Where might we need to do some work?
Friend Shelley E. Cochran of Rochester (New York) Meeting warned us saying,
…often our reluctance is more a matter of convenience than principle. Most times, I think, we fudge because we simply find it easier to go quietly along than to witness. Faced with social pressure, many of us choose the path of least resistance.
This is clearly going to be a communal effort, folks. We are going to need each other to stand up and make our voices and lives heard. Yes, it will have to start with our personal integrity, but it must not stop there.
Let me close with the words of Shelley Francis from The Courage Way:
“It takes courage to create a meaningful life of integrity. It also requires good company. And practice.”
Amen.
Now, as we enter waiting worship, we will take some time to ponder the queries I just shared.