«Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You»(Psalm 25:21).
A LEGEND SAYS that around the year 250 BC, in ancient China, an heir to the throne was about to be named emperor; however, for that, he needed to get married. Whom would he marry? was the great unknown, and there was not much time to resolve it. Thus, the future emperor decided to summon the most beautiful young women in the empire in order to choose from them the one who would share the throne with him.
A woman who was part of the palace court heard the news and spoke to her daughter, who was smitten with the future emperor. young woman was beautiful, so she decided to present herself as a candidate in spite of the fact that she was from a poor family. The young women had to submit themselves to a test, based on which the future husband would choose the ideal woman. The test was simple: the prince gave them a seed they had to cultivate; the one who got the most beautiful plant from that seed would be his wife.
Finally, the great day arrived. All the candidates nervously presented their pots with spectacular flowers—all except the humble young woman. «I will marry the one who brings the pot without a plant,» said the future emperor, surprising friends and strangers. «I gave all the women an infertile seed that would never produce any plant, and she was the only honest one. Integrity is a virtue that my wife should have.
«The Bible also gives great importance to virtues such as integrity and uprightness, as we read in today’s verse. Another version translates this passage as «May my goodness and honesty preserve me, because I trust in you» (GNT). Integrity, uprightness, truthfulness, innocence, honesty—all these virtues indicate the same thing: doing things in all conscience, without ulterior motives, giving the best of oneself and leaving the rest to God. shields us from the attacks of envious or evil-minded people. God will make sure that time puts us in our place when we have done things according to the principles and values of His Word. What mother would not feel honored to have an upright daughter? Saying «judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness» (Psalm 7:8) denotes a level of trust that can only be had by only those who know that in their heart dwells the desire to live a simple Christian life.