Integrity—it's what we all demand of our leaders, sales people, doctors and pastors. Politicians claim to have it. But what is it? Stephen Carter, in his book Integrity, makes this observation: "The word integrity comes from the same Latin root as integer and historically has been understood to carry much the same sense, the sense of wholeness: a person of integrity, like a whole number, is a whole person, a person somehow undivided." The Hebrew word in the Old Testament translated "integrity," tom, has the same meaning of completeness or wholeness. Notice these uses of tom in Proverbs: Proverbs 10:9: "He who walks with integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will become known." Proverbs 11:3: "The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them." Proverbs 19:1: "Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool." Proverbs 20:7: "The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him." Simply stated, the more consistent a person is in knowing what he actually believes, articulating what he believes and conducting his or her life based on those beliefs, the more integrity he or she has. Yet, we must admit, it is possible for someone to base his or her conduct on a false belief. The person may be sincere and consistent; but does he have integrity? Stephen Carter concludes that integrity "requires three steps: 1) discerning what is right and wrong; 2) acting on what you have discerned, even at personal cost; and 3) saying openly that you are acting on your understanding of right and wrong."