HONESTY

Therefore, laying aside all malice, all guile, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking – 1 Peter 2:1

One of the fundamental traits of a godly Character is HONESTY, the quality of telling the truth. Honesty is to be faithful in all aspects of life; living an upright life; and being straight-forward. God demands absolute honesty from us. Honesty ensures a free conscience with God and Man. An American magazine posed two questions in a survey: (1) “If you were in a restaurant and the waiter accidentally under-changed you for dinner, would you correct the error or pocket the difference?”; (2) “If you found a wallet with $1,000 in it, would you contact the authorities so they could try to find the owner, or would you stop off at the bank for a quick deposit?” The result of the survey over a seven-year period revealed a declining level of honesty among the populace! What are your own answers to this ‘Check for Honesty’?

The opposite of honesty include the following:

• Cheating: means to rob people of what belongs to them, by tricks. God is against cheating; and you cannot gain anything by cheating: “that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified” (1The.4:6). Defrauding others is a short-cut to destruction!

• Deceit: manifests in different shades (1Pet. 2:1). Honesty is a secret to enjoying the good and long life: “He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile.” (1Pet.3:10).

• Lying: destroys one’s personality. Therefore we are exhorted: “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds” (Col.3:9).

• Slander: erodes honour and dignity. God honours honesty: “LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart; he who does not backbite with his tongue…” (Psa.15:1-3a).

Dishonesty is a terribly dangerous vice; and before God, it can be fatal. Ananias and Sapphira must have thought they could get away with lying; but they quickly found out differently when Peter confronted them and confirmed that they had lied to the Holy Spirit. Immediately they were struck dead (Acts 5: 1-11). The Lord’s desire was to keep His new church pure and holy, so he could use the believers to influence the lives of others positively. According to Bible teacher G. Campbell Morgan: “The church pure is the church powerful…” Following the drastic judgement of the couple’s sin of dishonesty, the purity of the church led to their testimony spreading, and “believers were increasingly added to the Lord” (v.14).

We cannot hide from God. He never designed even the couple in marriage to hide from each other: “and they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Gen.2:25). The nakedness referred to here was beyond the physical; it also meant that Adam and Eve were open and honest in their relationship. Unfortunately, fallen Man, from the beginning has been trying, but never been able to hide from God (Gen.3:8-10). God wants us to be people who “deal truthfully” so we can be used by Him: “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who deal truthfully are His delight” (Pro.12:22). How honest are you? Are you more of a delight to the Lord or an abomination before Him? The Spirit of God is willing and able to make and keep us honest in word and deed. We can cast all deceit, deception, fakery, and falsehood aside.

Honesty seems to be becoming less and less popular. As Christians, we must be committed to being honest. Whether in official transactions or personal communication and interactions, we need to tell the truth always. Our honourable conduct is one way to glorify God: “having your conduct honourable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1Pet.2:12). We have a holy duty to set the example of honesty before a watching world!