Meet Haralan Popov, one of the bravest people who ever lived! He was a pastor in Bulgaria when the government was controlled by people who hated Christians. They threw him in prison and treated him terribly, trying to make him give up his faith in Jesus.

One day, the prison guards called Haralan to their office. They had been keeping him in a horrible place called “the pit,” a hot, terrible hole where many prisoners suffered and died. The guards said, “We’ll let you out of this awful place, but you have to do something for us. Tell us about the other Christians—give us information about them.”

After praying silently, Haralan looked at the guards and said just one word: “No.”

Can you imagine how hard that must have been? He could have been free from that horrible place! But Haralan had integrity, which means doing what’s right even when it costs you something important. He would rather suffer than betray his friends or give up his faith.

Most of us will never face anything as scary as what Haralan faced. But that’s exactly why we should practice having integrity in small things now! When we are honest when we break something accidentally and when we tell the truth when we make a mistake, we’re building integrity muscles that will help us stand strong when bigger tests come.

Take Action: Think of a situation where you could choose integrity this week. Maybe it’s admitting when you didn’t do your chores instead of making excuses or telling your parents the truth about something you did wrong. Integrity means being the same person on the inside that you appear to be on the outside. Ask God to help you be a person of integrity, just like Haralan Popov!