A Matter Of Honesty

A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight. (Proverbs 11:1)
The first governor-general of Australia was Lord Hopetoun. One of his most cherished possessions was a 300-year-old ledger he inherited from John Hope, one of his ancestors. Hope owned a business in Edinburgh where he first used this old ledger. When Lord Hopetoun received it, he noticed it had inscribed on its front page this short, but powerful prayer, "O Lord, keep me and this book honest!"

By now, most of us have heard about the dishonest New York Times reporter who quoted people he never interviewed, wrote stories about places he never saw, plagiarized other journalists and, generally, wrote dozens of fake stories. After thirty years in journalism, I know one thing for a fact. Jayson Blair is not the first, nor will he be the last, reporter to fudge a story. This kind of dishonesty is rampant in a highly competitive media, and it has gotten much worse since the advent of cable TV and the internet.

Unfortunately, honesty is not a very high priority in our society. Our Daily Bread featured a recent USA Today poll that found only 56% of Americans teach honesty to their children. And a Louis Harris poll turned up the distressing fact that 65% of high school students said they would cheat on an important exam.

Recently a noted physician appeared on a network news-and-talk show and proclaimed, "Lying is an important part of social life, and children who are unable to do it are children who may have developmental problems."

All of which brings us to this question. Do humans understand honesty as God defines it?

HONESTY VS. DISHONESTY

Man has a dozen or more words for dishonesty -- lie, cheat, false pretenses, fraud, sham... God has only one -- sin. These days, there are many ways a person can justify dishonesty. In God's mind, there is none.

Honesty is defined by the Holman Bible Dictionary as fairness and straightforwardness of conduct. Any action that deviates from this is dishonesty. Yet the line between honest and dishonest behavior has become so blurred in recent years that many people, including Christians, are confused. The attitude is "everybody does it" so it must be all right.

A CASE IN POINT

Say you are a carpenter building a house for a contractor. You see a power saw you would really like to have, so you take it home with you. Stealing, of course, is dishonest and nearly everyone would agree that filching a $200 commercial saw is definitely theft.

Now, instead of the saw, you take a small bag of your boss's eight-penny nails. Is that being dishonest, too? Everybody's doing it, and a pound or two of nails will probably never be missed. But ask yourself this. Does your behavior bring glory to God? What is worse in His eyes, stealing a $200 power saw or a dollar's worth of nails -- both of which belong to someone else? Is one sin worse than the other? Listen to Paul and answer those questions for yourself.

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)

THE DECLINE OF HONESTY

Those over 60 can easily remember a time when a handshake over a business deal was as good as a written contract. They can remember when the bank temporarily covered, as a matter of course, occasional overdrafts for customers. They can remember renting an expensive piece of equipment without flashing a major credit card or paying a hefty deposit. What happened to all this trust? The answer is the growing dishonesty in our society. Too many people have been burned by it over the past half century.

These days, the definition of honesty seems like the famous "daffynition" of recession and depression. A recession is when your neighbor loses his job -- a depression is when you lose yours. Dishonesty is also defined from a personal perspective.

What may be dishonest to one person, may not be dishonest to you -- unless, of course, it is your bull that's getting gored. If you saw a $20 bill flutter from someone's wallet, would you call their attention to it or would you pocket the money for yourself? If it was your $20 bill, how would you feel if someone pocketed it?

The truth to what is honest and dishonest is not a matter for human debate. 1 Thessalonians 5:5 says, "Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness." Light is knowledge of God and His Word. Only in Scripture is found the definitive answers of right and wrong, honesty and dishonesty. Society's definition of dishonesty, therefore, is the chaff which must be separated from the wheat.

A LIAR IS SATAN’S DELIGHT

"Honesty is the best policy" is no empty platitude. To a Christian, it's a matter of life and death. In fact, we can safely expand that thought to read, "Honesty is the ONLY policy." Sometimes being honest hurts, but dishonesty takes a much greater toll. Take lying for instance, the most common form of dishonesty.

It has been estimated that the average person may lie as many as 50 times a day, and most lie without even thinking about it. It has become so natural to bend the truth and even if we are caught in our falsehood, seldom are we punished. But it is no secret that lies hurt others as well as ourselves.

The liar, however, is satan's delight. Satan is the father of all lies. It was he who told the first whopper and it will be he who tells the last. But the prince of liars will be dealt with harshly in the future, as will be his followers. In Revelation we read, "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." (Revelation 12:9)

We may get away with almost all our lies... We think... But the truth is that we get away with none of them. Though we may pull the wool over the eyes of our neighbor, trying to deceive God is a much more serious matter. He who knows every recess of the human heart also knows every lie we've ever told -- all of them.

Worst still, since we fail to recognize many of our lies as "lies," they remain unforgiven sins that tarnish our fellowship with God until we come to our senses, get down on our knees and plead His forgiveness.

HOW DOES GOD SEE HONESTY?

The definition of honesty -- God's definition, if you will -- has been buried over years in the welter of everchanging mores of secular society. But though it has been miserably bent out of shape by man's wisdom, the true definition of honesty, like God, has not changed one iota since the beginning of time.

It is essential that every Christian understand the definition of honesty -- fairness and straightforwardness of conduct. It extends into every corner of our lives -- from our friends, to our relationships with our family and, most of all, in our relationship with God. Proverbs 11:1 says, "A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight."

According to His word, God condemns all false measures, weights and deceits. Paul tells the Philippians, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8) These are the values that set you apart as Christians and will glorify God.

Dishonesty has no place in the Christian life. However, if you find yourself always having to defend yourself to others, maybe your honesty is not all it should be. Perhaps it’s a flaw in your Christian character that needs work.

Soli Deo Gloria

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Ed Price spent 35 years in print and broadcast journalism. He is author of 15 books. After becoming an ordained minister he settled with his wife on a farm in the mountains of Southwest Virginia, to study God's word and to write. Ed and Patty are the parents of three girls, have one grandchild, and cater to the every whim of two spoiled cats.
© 2008 Ed Price - All rights reserved. Visit his website, The Loving Heart.

This column is used with permission.