Sunday, June 24, 2012

Can We Be Honest?

Every now and again, I am reminded that honesty is not an inherent quality in a human being.  While I certainly strive to be a person of honesty and integrity, and I am sure that there are many, many in this world who also strive for this for themselves, there are times when I come across someone lying, and it just baffles me. 

The Bible tells us to let our "yes" be "yes," and our "no" be "no" and to think on what is "true."  I find that it should be fairly simple to decern what is truth and what is false hood, as these concepts are pretty self-explanatory.  However, I've noticed that humans often have trouble with such "easy" concepts. 

A few examples:

1) Husband asks a sulking wife, "What's wrong."  To answer, the wife says, "Nothing."    Hmmm.
Then, the wife wonders why the husband doesn't "get" her.

2) A parent tries to sneak his/her child into an event at the ticket rate only allowed for a child a year younger.  The parent is then clueless as to why it is difficult to teach the child to be honest.  Hmmm, again.

3) A girl is angry that her boyfriend doesn't trust her when she goes out with other friends.  Her way around it?  She lets him believe that she is still at home when he calls her, even though she isn't.  Wow, way to gain a reputation for integrity, right?


At some point, each of us needs to take a look at what we say we believe in, such as the concept of honesty, and we need to examine if our actions truly demonstrate the character we want to emulate for our children, toward our spouses, and within ourselves.  

Do you want to be trusted by your husband, respected by your children, and a person of integrity?  Taking some time to see if our actions back-up our words and beliefs is well worth the investment.

When we can be honest with ourselves, we can learn to be honest with and for those we love, too.