Developing Integrity in the Next Generation

An authentic Christian school provides its students with an academically excellent, Bible-based, and character focused education. Today, let’s focus on the last one—Character. If a young person is to achieve success in life, he must develop godly character. The Bible states, “The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of the transgressors shall destroy them.” (Proverbs 11:3) Integrity involves the development of character. The following are ten foundational attributes of character that we find in God’s Word and that every child should develop if he is to be a young person of integrity:

 
  1. Discernment/Wisdom
Proverbs 4:7 “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding”                       
 
  1. Obedience
Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right”   
           
  1. Self-discipline
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway”                  
 
  1. Orderliness/Neatness
1 Corinthians 14:40 “Let all things be done decently and in order” 
 
  1. Truthfulness
3 John 4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth”           
                       
  1. Meekness
Matthew 5:5 “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth”           
 
  1. Gratefulness
1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you”
 
  1. Attentiveness/Fervor
Romans 12:11-12 “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer”
 
  1. Forgiveness
Ephesians 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you”
 
 
  1. Reverence
Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man”
 
These attributes are developed primarily by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit as students yield their lives to God. The Lord, however, also uses human instruments to help guide and mold this kind of integrity in the hearts of our youth. Parents, pastors, and teachers are vital in this process. When the home, church and school are striving together for the faith, the Lord is pleased and does an amazing work in the lives of young people.  
 
Please remember this: developing character in a young person’s life does not happen by accident—it is not developed spontaneously—it must be taught and modeled on purpose!  The goal of character development is to see young people making the right decisions, doing the right things, in the right ways, with a right heart attitude, especially when no one is looking!  Parents can help mold godly character in their children by doing the following:
 
1. Insuring that your children/teens are saved, baptized, and surrendered to Christ
Often, the reason for which students continue to make wrong choices is that they are not truly saved, they are struggling with the assurance of their salvation, or they are simply out of fellowship with Christ. God’s desire is for students to be fully surrendered to Him. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1)
 
2. Having regular family devotions in your Christ-centered home
Young people need to see, hear, and experience biblical consistency in the home. Parents are the first and most important teachers in their children’s lives. Indeed, God commands parents to “teach them [God’s Words] diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” (Deuteronomy 6:7)
 
3. Attending a Sunday School class faithfully each week
Studying the Bible, enjoying Christian fellowship, and having a Sunday School leader is crucial
to a student’s spiritual growth and the development of godly character. The Bible compels us to
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly diving the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
 
4. Being a “three to thrive” family Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday night
The Church has been established and ordained by God to be the place where families are equipped in the truth and faith of Christ. Souls are saved, lives are changed, marriages are strengthened, children are taught, and Christ is exalted when the Bible is opened and preached by the man of God. That is why God exhorts us not to miss a church service. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:25)
 
5. Providing a distinctively Christian education for your children
Jesus said in His Word that Christian parents are to bring up their children in the “nurture and admonition” of the Lord. If we are to see a generation of young people with integrity in the twenty-first century, we must train and educate them in the ways of Christ and not of this world. Indeed, the Bible tells us to “train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
(Proverbs 22:6)
 
As you help develop young people of character and integrity, remember to instill other important attributes such as determination, responsibility, accountability, punctuality, loyalty, and other character qualities in their early years. The process of sharpening young lives for Christ takes time, commitment, and consistency, but the investment will truly be worth it all! May the Christian home, church, and school continue to strive together and train up a generation of young people with biblical integrity for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints!   
 
 
By Dr. Manuel Salazar
Administrator, Lancaster Baptist School