Honesty

Honesty is a virtue that seems to be in short supply in modern times. When I was growing up, a person would give their word about something, and a deal was done. What a man said was binding, and failure to keep their word was shameful. In our present world, a man’s word means very little. Deceit, insincerity, and lies have caused the need for agreements to become a legal matter. We must understand that honesty is not based on the words we say, it is based on the heart of the person speaking them. A person may know all the right words to say to convince someone of something, but eventually, the heart will reveal if the person is honest.

Honesty is at the base of becoming a Christian. Before we can accept Christ as our personal Savior, we must admit that we are in need of a Savior. We must be honest with ourselves and God. God will not deal with our facades. Thinking we are a good person and we are going to add God to our lives as a ticket to Heaven, will not work. We must admit that we have sinned, and our sin sent Jesus to the cross to pay the penalty for us. We must be spiritually bankrupt, understanding that nothing we can do on our own, can gain us eternal life in Heaven.

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” 

It is honesty with ourselves that brings us to the cross for repentance, but it is also honesty that allows us to remain in Him. Honesty allows us to experience a life that is full of His grace. We may put on a façade before others, trying to impress them or cover up who we really are, but God does not deal with us based on our facades. God sees the heart, and it is the heart that He deals with.

1 Samuel 16:7 “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”  

If we are honest, we must look within ourselves and see what God sees. Sometimes, we give ourselves way too much credit. We think too highly of ourselves and too little of God. God faithfully pursues who we are in the recesses of our hearts. He seeks to draw us to Him, where His holiness exposes our sin to ourselves. It is where we find true forgiveness for the lies we have told ourselves. It is here where God can mold us to be what He wants us to be. Until we allow God to break down the walls around our hearts, we will not see who He has designed us to be.

James 1:26 has strong words about the use of our tongues. If we say we are Christians but can’t control our own tongue, we have deceived ourselves, and our religion is vain or worthless. These are very strong words that we need to heed. We will not be effective Christians until we speak the truth, and truth only.

James 1:26 “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.”

If we are honest our integrity will guide us. We will feel compelled to tell the truth. Our hearts will feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit when we are not truthful. Proverbs 11:3 teaches this truth, but it also teaches that our perverseness will destroy us. Perverseness is being deliberate and obstinate in our behavior. In this application, it would be lying for our own gain, even though we know there may be consequences.

Proverbs 11:3 “The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.”

God speaks much about telling the truth, being honest with others and ourselves, and guarding our words so that they are not misunderstood. We have a responsibility to guard the integrity of the title we carry as a Christian. The old man has been purged, and we should act accordingly. Lying is a universal sin that seems to be at the base of every other sin. You don’t have to teach anyone to lie. From the time a child begins to understand there are consequences to wrong behavior, they will lie. We don’t teach them to lie; we must teach them to tell the truth.

II Corinthians 8:21 “Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.”

Colossians 3:9 “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;”

We can also lie with our actions. When we flatter others to gain their support we have lied. When our actions say one thing and the truth is another we lie! When we sing praises to God and gossip about our neighbor, we have lied. When we tell someone everything is ok, when it is not, we lie. When we exaggerate, we lie. There are so many ways that we lie daily that we have come to think it is ok, but God still sees it as a lie. God detests lying lips, but those that are truthful are a delight to the Lord.

Proverbs 12:22 “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.”

Becoming totally honest brings vulnerability, but this allows us to realize our need for God. We cannot be totally honest if we are not depending on Him for guidance. The sinful nature we have will always seek comfort and preservation, and being truthful may lead to unwanted consequences. The only way to conquer this sin is to draw closer to Him. Drawing close to Him reveals our sins to us. The Bible says there is no darkness in Him; therefore, the light exposes us to our own dishonesty. We must see it before we can change it.

I John 1:5 “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

Living a life of honesty governs what we say to others. I Peter 3:10 teaches us to keep our tongues from evil and speak no deceit. Colossians 3:9 teaches us not to lie to each other. The Bible is full of examples of those who lied and suffered the consequences and those who told the truth and suffered for a moment but eventually gained the blessings of an honest life.

Today, take some time to check yourself. Are you living honestly, or are you trying to portray yourself as something you are not? Have you lived a lie so long that you have come to believe it? Come before God today and ask Him to help you see anything in your life that is not honest. Be still, and the Holy Spirit will reveal what you need to change. Ask for forgiveness and live with the freedom that honest lives experience.