Kingdom Corner Reading Room

Integrity — Chapter 8: “What People in Touch Look Like”

What does it really look like to be a person who is in touch with reality?

In this episode of the Kingdom Corner Reading Room, we continue through Henry Cloud's Integrity and move deeper into what it means to be oriented toward truth.

A person of integrity doesn't simply tolerate truth when it arrives. They actively seek it. They want to understand the world around them, but perhaps even more challenging, they want to discover the truth about themselves.

Cloud challenges us to recognize that none of us sees ourselves completely accurately. That's why people committed to growth seek feedback from spouses, friends, mentors, accountability relationships, and others who can help expose our blind spots. The question becomes: Do we see honest feedback as a threat—or as a gift?

And sometimes the truth we avoid isn't negative. We can also resist discovering our strengths because acknowledging them may require us to step forward, accept greater responsibility, and move beyond our comfort zones.

One powerful phrase from today's reading is:

“Give me the last 10%.”

Are there people in our lives whom we've given permission to tell us what we're not seeing—even when their feedback is difficult to hear? And have we become safe enough and humble enough for them to tell us the truth?

Questions to carry into the weekend

• Do I really want to know the truth about myself—or only the truth I'm comfortable hearing?
• What do other people see in me that I may not be able to see myself?
• When someone corrects me, do I hear correction, or do I experience rejection?
• Who in my life has permission to give me the last 10%?
• Have I made it safe for them to do so?

And out of these chapters, a word has begun to emerge:

TRUTHWARD →

A posture of moving toward truth rather than away from it.

As I shared in today's episode:

There is no true transformation without a Truthward posture. You can't transform what you continually refuse to see.

What we continually defend is difficult to change. But what we're willing to uncover honestly and bring before the Lord can become an opportunity for transformation.

Have the courage to face your own reality.

Have the courage to get in touch with yourself.

We'll return to Integrity on August 27–28 and continue with another dimension of being oriented toward truth: seeking the truth about other people.

And coming this fall, we're also planning a Kingdom Corner Zoom get-together for those who have been journeying with us through both the Historical Series and the Reading Room—a chance to see one another, talk about what we're learning, ask questions, and gather around the Kingdom Corner table together.