Honesty: January 27, 2014

TODAYSWORD FOR MONDAY JANUARY 27, 2014.

HONESTY

DEFINITION:

Uprighteous; integrity; trustworthiness; truthfulness; sincerity; freedom from deceit or fraud.

SCRIPTURE:

“The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.” Proverbs 11:3.

“I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted the Lord; I shall not slip.” Psalm 26:1.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

We have learned over the years that honesty is one of the most important traits a person can have. One that is known for his or her integrity can be trusted to be a partner, an associate or most important, a friend. Parents have a major responsibility to live an honest life at home and at their workplace. Children learn by watching and when they see even a little white lie they do not forget it. Children use it to excuse the lies they tell.

A white lie may seem like no big deal but once we are willing to be dishonest in little things it becomes most likely we will yield to compromising our integrity in bigger things. When we are caught in dishonesty people no longer trust us. Once we lose our integrity it is very hard to get it back.

The lack of honesty in people today is prevalent world-wide. It is hard to know whom you can believe let alone trust. The newspapers and television news reports remind us daily of how dishonest people are. Governments cannot trust other governments. Businesses give dishonest financial reports and deceive investors. Taxpayers cheat on their taxes. Students cheat to get better grades. Spouses cheat on one another. Children lie to get out of trouble.

We are given the godly advice in Proverbs 11:3 that we should let honesty guide us. Honesty keeps us on the path of uprighteousness. Dishonesty leads us to destruction.

In the verse above from Psalms, the word integrity is not translated as a claim of perfection but the psalmist is saying that he walked in God’s truth and did not associate with evil doers, hypocrites, and deceitful people (Psalm 26:3-5).

In the book of Acts, chapter 5, we read about the dishonesty of Ananias and Sapphire who were active members of their church. Yes, dishonesty can be found even in church members. Satan had planted in their hearts a very deceitful plan. We can learn through this story found in the Bible that church members are not immune to Satan’s temptation.

They sold a piece of property and brought a portion of the profit to the apostles as their gift to God. The problem was that they inferred or pretended to be giving all the profit to the Lord. Their sin was that they were not honest. It is important to note that God would have blessed them for their gift if they reported that they were giving a portion of the profit. But they lied to the apostles to make themselves seem more generous than they were. The truth was that they were not what they appeared to be.

The problem that they had was multiple. They were not honest to themselves, to the apostles and, most important, to God. It reads in Acts 5:4: “Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” For this they paid a terrible price -- death.

Ananias and Sapphire knew that what they were doing was dishonest but they felt that no one would know what the property sold for. Nothing is hidden from God. God knows our every dishonest thought, every lie we tell, and every dishonest thing we do. By reading this passage of scripture to your child you will be able to teach them the importance of being honest. Being honest is pleasing to God.

Parents have the responsibility to set standards of honesty for their children. As we said above, children must see standards of honesty upheld in the lives of their parents. And as parents we need to be well aware that we teach our children not only by our words but by example. We need to show honesty and consistency in our daily walk and talk because what we do and say is watched carefully by our children.

If a child is raised in a home where their parents and siblings are not honest and upright, then dishonesty becomes a way of life for the child as he or she grows up. Someone once said that being honest means that you will never have to look back over your shoulder. This is true because when one is dishonest one almost always will soon get caught with a conflicting story. It seems that there is always someone that surfaces that knows the truth. We can be certain that our heavenly Father knows the truth and we will have to sooner or later answer to Him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Mark 16:15.

And Jesus said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

PRAYER:

Thank You Lord for giving us a standard of honesty that we can use as our guide in life. I pray that You will give me the motivation and the strength to be honest and consistent in doing what is right in Your sight. Keep me from the temptation to associate with those who do not walk in God’s truth and are dishonest and untrustworthy.