“The integrity of the upright will guide them.” – Proverbs 11:3
Another problem we face, like the self-serving bias in the previous post, is something called “fundamental attribution error.” Here is what it looks like: if something good happens we tend to explain it by taking credit for it, but if something bad happens we tend to explain it by blaming circumstances. For example, if I do well on a test I think it is because I’m smart; if I do poorly, it’s because I was distracted and didn’t study enough. But the issue gets worse when we try and put the blame on the behavior on other people instead of realizing our own bad behavior. How about this example: if you have gotten a speeding ticket, or any type of ticket, you blame the police because they HAVE to fill their quota and were out catching speeders instead of real criminals… I’ve heard that excuse a lot…and I hope I don’t ever use it, because the fact is you still sped, broke the law, and now justice needs to be rendered. You can’t put the blame on other people, when you knowingly and willingly broke the law. If they let all speeders and traffic rule breakers loose and catch only real criminals, there would be more accidents, deaths (that will affect families), and overall just utter chaos… So, even though they have quota to meet, there is a good reason they have to do it.
What’s the solution to the fundamental attribution error? The way of grace and repentance. We need God’s help to see the truth about ourselves. And He gives it to us in three ways:
- Through prayer.
- Through reading and applying His Word.
- Through people who love and know us well; people who don’t tell us what we want to hear but what we need to hear.
To live a life of integrity means taking the blame when you, yourself, did wrong and NOT blame others. When we do that, we start to build up the self-serving bias and placing ourselves above others. That’s why I believe humility goes hand-in-hand with integrity; you simply cannot have one without the other. So take this time to start humbling yourself before the Lord and ask for his help and know you will receive it in one of the three ways mentioned earlier.