Honesty....

Honesty...something that has been on my mind a lot lately. The lack of honesty in people bothers me...a lot. It always has, but even more recently with recent events with some people in my life. By no means am I saying that I am not guilty of this. I am not trying to point out specks on others eyes. I am aware I always have a plank in my own eye. I am writing this just as much for myself as for anyone who has the curiosity to read this.

Why do people view lying as ok? Is it ever ok? Maybe you can think of a scenario that it is but I can't. Is it ok to lie when you are protecting someone that you really care about? Not in my opinion. That could hurt the person. Especially if they find out that you lied for them. Some people might find that as flattery, but it could really hurt others. Maybe a person lies because they don't want someone to know about something in their life. Once again I don't think this is ok. If you feel like you have to hide a part of your life from anyone then there is something wrong and you need to deal with it.


Leviticus 19:11 - "Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another."

Honesty reflects your character, as do many other qualities. I want people to view me as an honest person, in every aspect of my life. Something that goes along with honesty is trust. If someone knows you are being completely honest with them, they feel they can trust you. On the flip side of that, if someone knows you are not completely honest with them, how are they supposed to trust you. No where in the bible, does Jesus compromise the truth for anything. Actually since Christ is the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life,  then I know for a fact that honesty is high on a proirity list of what we, as His followers that strive to be like Him, should be striving for in our character.

Luke 16:10 - "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."


Honesty is a great way to show your faith. This made me think a little bit, but it is so true. When we are completely honest, even when the world wouldn't be, our witness of Christ shines through. This really hits home with me. Lately it has been on my heart about why I do what I do. Why do I make the choices I make? I know why. I know that a lot of my life choices are to glorify God, but does the world know that? Do I just do what I do and go on with life or do I explain that to the world? This made me re-evaluate why I do some of the things that I do. What an open door to share my faith if I would just be totally honest in all of my decisions. Woah...crazy!

Titus 1:7 - "Since an overseer is entrusted with God's work, he must be blameless--not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain."

Proverbs 14:5 - "A truthful witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies. "

So is it possible to be too honest? I don't think you can be too honest, but you can have a loose tongue. What am I refering to? Gossiping. How often do you and I catch ourselves telling people things that they have no business knowing? Way too much most likely. I know for me it is. Gossiping is so harmful. So many times I don't even realize that I am until after the fact. It frustrates me. Once the sin is committed, you can't get it back. Unfortunately we can't wipe someone's memory clean once we realize that we didn't want to tell them something. But the great thing about God's grace is that we can be forgiven for this, thankfully so.

Proverbs 11:13 "A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret."

Matthew 12:36 - "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of
judgment for every careless word they have spoken."


So wow! This blog has been so convicting even of myself. Maybe a bit harsh, but I think harsh is good sometimes...actually probably most of the time. So my thought to you and myself is think before you speak and act. If your words and actions are not truth and glorifying to God and necessary then stop.

1 John 2:20-21 - "But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth."

Psalm 34:13 - "keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies."
Ephesians 4:29 - "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."