Picture credit: Bible Society / Andrew Boyd
‘Can we imagine a world where integrity counts for nothing?’ Mr Joe Tetteh, of the Bible Society of Ghana, asked the ABLI Forum in Cameroon. ‘To sacrifice ethical values is a sure recipe for disaster.’
Mr Tetteh told the African Biblical Leadership Initiative how his own integrity had been tested early in his banking career.
‘I was fed a falsehood and misled into authorising a cheque. I was completely shattered. Two weeks of stress and anguish completely broke me. I prayed I would never again allow this to happen. It was a mistake of judgement of my part, due to my inexperience.
‘Eventually the transaction was unwound and nobody suffered. But I had learnt my lesson. Ps 66:10 has since been my anchor: ‘You have tested us, Oh God, you have purified us like silver. It became a catalyst for my career.’
Mr Tetteh revealed his own integrity test for leaders, based on three questions:
Reflecting on integrity, he defined it as ‘doing what is right, even when nobody is looking. It is our moral compass. It is not mandated by law, but it comes from the heart.
‘Integrity is the absence of inner warfare in a man. The fruits of integrity are boldness, insistence and serenity – peace of heart.
‘Integrity is obedience to the unenforceable. Nobody can compel you to obey your conscience.’
He cited the example of Luther. ‘Martin Luther, facing his enemies in his city where his death had been decreed, said, “God help me, I cannot do otherwise.”
‘The supreme quality for leadership is integrity,’ said Mr Tetteh.
Quoting scripture, he said, ‘The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of God is the very heart of integrity.’
ABLI is an initiative of Bible Society.
Picture credit: Bible Society / Andrew Boyd
Andrew Boyd
