SQ Wisdom: Integrity of Heart

Proverbs 4:23-27 (NIV) 

²³  Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
²⁴  Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
²⁵  Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.
²⁶  Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.
²⁷  Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

Guarding our hearts is one of the wisdom nuggets for SQ parenting.  It protects life and directs us to a good living.  Why is defending our hearts so important?  Our hearts are more than the physical organ that gives and sustains life.  It is the metaphorical seat of our soul, will, thoughts, emotions, and the treasure chest of our characters and virtues.  It is the wellspring of life and the birthplace of all our actions.

As we guard, nurture, cultivate our hearts and our children's hearts, we will find the wholesomeness of honesty, transparency, consistency, and the ability to withstand the winds of changing opinions and peer pressures.  All deceptions, evil intents, and crooked ways do not have a place in our hearts.  Integrity will fill our hearts, nurture, and sustain our hearts.

Integrity is one of the fundamental ethical values that give an anchor to trusting relationships.  Integrity is a valuable commodity in the world of deceit.  Integrity is a currency in the transaction of wealth.  Business values it.  Marriages require it.  We know how devastating it is if missing from any connections.  Habits of Integrity starts early in life.

How do we develop Integrity among our children? (Apply the Developmental Relational Skills, in particular, "Challenge Growth")
1. Inspire them with real-life examples of people of integrity.  Be an example ourselves.  Help them see the possibilities of success in being honest, consistent, real, and transparent.  Assist them in discovering their strengths and in developing them through repeated practices.
2. Expect them to live according to the family's values and standards, better yet, of their own lives as world citizens and children of God.  Do not shy away from sharing about the ethics and morals of your faith and tradition.
3. Stretch them in their familiar ways of thinking and doing.  Cultivate curiosity and initiatives to explore and experiment.  Discuss the latest news close and far.
4. Help them to accept limits and develop healthy boundaries in sleep habits, in learning, in making friends, in leisure, and in other aspects of life.
5. Guard their hearts by affirming, encouraging, and praying for their daily input of information, interactions, and inspirations.