Integrity and Honesty

Integrity, Honesty, and Authenticity

Emily Koops, Courtney Mills, Kyli Verduci, Jessica Wisse

How Honesty Affects Us All

Johnny’s Social Study Observations:

To Be Dishonest:

Honesty and Scripture

- Male student with backpack making a bagel

Response: “No, I wish”

- Male student passing through Johnny’s

Response: “No, no”

- Older guy in Johnny’s Cafe (TOOK MONEY)

Response: “Maybe, I was fiddling in my pocket, it could have been mine”

- Older lady in Johnny’s Cafe

Response: “No, but thank you for asking”

- Female Student in Johnny’s Cafe

Response: “Umm, no” (rude tone)

- Female Student in Johnny’s Cafe

Response: “No, I don’t think so, no, no, I didn’t”

Brave by Sara Bareilles

“Nothing will hurt you the way words do... when they are kept inside”

“Let your words be anything but empty...tell the truth”

chorus

“Say what you wanna say and let the words fall out.

Honestly, I wanna see you be brave”

To Be Honest:

"is to be partly feigned, forged, fake, fictitious."

2 Samuel 12

"Is to be real, genuine, and authentic."

"Dishonesty seeks shade, cover, or concealment. It is a disposition to live partly in the dark."

Social Science Research

"Honesty fills lives with openness, reliability, and candor; it expresses a disposition to live in the light."

Works Cited

"Dishonesty fully respects neither oneself nor others."

Summary: King David saw Bathsheba and wanted her as his own, even though she was already married to a man named Uriah. Uriah was a soldier for David’s army so David had Uriah placed in the front of the battle lines - ensuring his death.

Nathan was called by the Lord to confront David on his sins. He was appointed to speak the truth even if that made him unpopular with King David. His open and honest communication led David to repent of his sins and be made right with God again.

What does this look like?

"Honesty expresses both self-respect and respect of others."

Honesty: Factual truthfulness and interpersonal sincerity

Authenticity: Emotional genuineness & psychological depth

Integrity: Strong principles & self-unity

- Practice open communication

- Be who you are, even if that makes you unpopular

- Follow through on all commitments

Core Virtues

- Bennett, William J. The Book of Virtues. New York City: Simon and Schuster Inc., 1993. 597-662. Print.

-Peterson, Christopher; Seligman, Martin E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

-Plantinga, Cornelius Jr. Engaging God's World. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 2002

-Bareilles, Sara. 2013, Epic Records.

Humility: In order for Calvin to foster students who appreciate the virtue of honesty, learning to appreciate humility in everyday teachings is important for students to learn openly and completely.

Childhood Stories

Honesty: The virtue of honesty within a Calvin education draws a strong focus on academic honesty and plagiarism. Students learn that consequences appear when honesty is not practiced in every classroom.

A Boy Who Cried Wolf - Aesop

For all friendship and all genuine community, one needs to recognize that honesty is a fundamental condition for all human contact.

Justice: Being fair is what runs the world and here at Calvin it is also forms a basis for many of the clubs, sports and gatherings used to involve the students. Honest judgement allows one to have a fully clear mind in making decisions for the greater good.

Courage: In everyday academics it takes a great deal of courage for students to be honest to their peers and professors.

"Like most virtues, it is best developed and exercised in harmony with others. The more it is exercised, the more it becomes a settled disposition"

Honesty and Our Stories

When asked how each of us have found honesty to be prevalent in our lives we jointly agreed that lying is very difficult for us to do. We value the truth being told immediately, even if it is sometimes difficult for others or for us. The friendships and familial bonds we have formed throughout our lives involve an immense level of honesty. We expect a lot out of ourselves to hold firm to our virtues while being authentically honest in those friendships.

Creation, Fall, Redemption

In Creation, God created good and honest beings. He entrusted them to tell the truth. God Himself cannot lie, He is forever honest. After the Fall, Adam and Eve hid from God because they knew they had done wrong. Through redemptive honesty we form new relationships which, in turn, bring us closer to following Christ’s path.