Honesty – Notes

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Honesty in Society

All of us have to make decisions about whether to handle money honestly. Do you tell the cashier when you receive too much change? Have you ever tried to sell something and been tempted not to tell the truth because you might lose the sale?

Deciding on a course of honesty and integrity is all the more difficult because so many around us act dishonestly. The verse that comes to mind is Judges 17:6, “. . . everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” People today formulate their own standards of honesty — and then change them when circumstances change.

Honesty in Scripture

Hundreds of verses in the Bible communicate the Lord’s desire for us to be completely honest in all our dealings. For instance, Proverbs 20:23 says, “The Lord loathes all cheating and dishonesty” (TLB). And Proverbs 12:22 states, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.” And in Proverbs 6:16-17 we read, “The Lord hates . . . a lying tongue.”

Total Honesty

God wants us to be completely honest for the following reasons.

We cannot practice dishonesty and love God.

Two of the Ten Commandments address honesty. “You shall not steal. . . You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:15-16). And Jesus told us, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). In other words, we cannot disobey by practicing dishonesty and still claim to love God.

When being dishonest, we behave as if God doesn’t even exist. It’s a clear signal that we simply don’t believe He is able to provide what we need, even though He has promised to do so (Matthew 6:33). We take the situation into our own hands and do it in our own dishonest way. We’re also acting as if God is incapable of discovering our dishonesty and powerless to discipline us. If we really believe God will discipline us, we won’t consider acting dishonestly.

At the heart of it all, honest behavior is really an issue of faith. An honest decision may look foolish in light of what we can see, but the godly person knows Jesus Christ is alive, even though invisible. Every honest decision — even a decision that may harm us in the short run — strengthens our faith and helps us grow into a closer relationship with Christ. When we choose to be dishonest, we are denying God. It’s impossible to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind if, at the same time, we act as if He doesn’t exist. Scripture declares that the dishonest hate God. “. . . One who is devious in his ways despises Him” (Proverbs 14:2).

We cannot practice dishonesty and love our neighbor.

The Lord requires honesty because dishonest behavior also violates the second commandment, “. . . You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). Romans 13:9-10 reads, “If you love your neighbor as much as you love yourself you will not want to harm or cheat him . . . or steal from him.. . . Love does no wrong to anyone” (TLB).

Credibility for evangelism

Honesty enables us to demonstrate the reality of Jesus to those who don’t yet know Him. I will never forget the first time I told a neighbor how he could come to know Jesus as his personal Savior. He angrily responded, “Well, I know a man who always goes to church and talks a lot about Jesus, but watch out if you ever get in a financial deal with him! He’d cheat his own grandmother! If that’s what it means to be a Christian, I don’t want any part of it!”

Our actions speak louder than our words. “. . . Prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:15).

We can influence people for Jesus by handling money honestly. Robert had been trying to sell a car for months when someone finally made an acceptable offer. At the last moment, however, the buyer said, “I have one condition — you don’t report this sale so I won’t have to pay state sales tax.”

Although he was tempted, Robert responded, “I’m sorry, I can’t do that because of my relationship with Jesus.” Robert later said, “You should have seen his reaction. He almost went into shock! Then his attitude completely changed. Not only did he buy the car, but he started asking all kinds of questions about God and faith! Rarely have I seen anyone as open to the truth about knowing Jesus.”

Confirms God’s direction

Proverbs 4:24-26 reads, “Rid yourself of a deceitful mouth and keep devious speech far from you. Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet, and all your ways will be established.”

What a great principle. As you are completely honest, “all your ways will be established.” Choosing to walk the narrow path of honesty eliminates the many possible avenues of dishonesty.

“If only I’d understood that,” Raymond said. “I wanted that car so much. It was my dream car. But I had too much debt to qualify for the loan. The only way for me to buy it was to hide some of my debts from the lender. It was the worst decision ever. Almost immediately I was unable to meet the car payment and pay my other debts, too. My dream car ended up being a nightmare.”

Had Raymond been honest, his lender would not have approved the loan, and he would have been unable to purchase that particular car. Had he prayed and waited, God might have brought something more affordable. Honesty helps confirm God’s direction.

Even small acts of dishonesty are harmful.

God requires us to be completely honest, because even the smallest act of dishonesty is sin and interrupts our fellowship with the Lord. The smallest white lie hardens our heart, making our conscience increasingly insensitive to sin. This single cancer cell of small dishonesty multiplies and spreads to greater dishonesty. “. . . Whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much” (Luke 16:10, NIV).

An event in Abraham’s life challenges us to be honest in small matters. The king of Sodom offered Abraham all the goods he had recovered when he had rescued the people of Sodom. But he responded, “I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours” (Genesis 14:22-23).

Just as Abraham was unwilling to take so much as a thread, we challenge you to make a similar commitment. Covenant not to steal a stamp or a penny from your employer or anyone else. The people of God must be honest in even the smallest matters.

What to Do When Dishonest

Unfortunately, we sometimes slip and act dishonestly. Once we recognize it, we need to do the following.

Restore our fellowship with God.

Anytime we sin, we break fellowship with God and need to restore it. First John 1:9 tells us how: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We must agree with God that our dishonesty was sin and then thankfully accept His gracious forgiveness so we can again enjoy His fellowship. Remember, God loves us. He is kind and merciful, ready to forgive our dishonesty when we turn from it.

Restore our fellowship with the harmed person.

After our fellowship with God has been restored, we need to confess our dishonesty to the person we offended. “Confess your sins to one another” (James 5:16).

Ouch! This hurts. Only a handful of people have confessed wronging me. Interestingly, these people have become some of my closest friends. They so desired an honest relationship that they were willing to expose their sins.

Confessing has been very hard for me. My first experience came years ago when I went to someone I had wronged and confessed my sin — not that I hadn’t had plenty of opportunities before! In the past, however, my pride had stood in the way. Afterward I sensed a great freedom in our relationship.

Failing to confess and restore fellowship may result in a lack of financial prosperity. “One who conceals his wrongdoings will not prosper, but one who confesses and abandons them will find compassion” (Proverbs 28:13).

Restore dishonestly acquired property.

If we have acquired anything dishonestly, we must return it to its rightful owner. “Then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall restore what he took by robbery . . . or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall make restitution for it in full and add to it a fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs” (Leviticus 6:4-5).

Restitution is a tangible expression of repentance and an effort to correct a wrong. Zacchaeus is a good example. He promised Jesus, “If I have extorted anything from anyone, I am giving back four times as much” (Luke 19:8).

If it’s not possible for restitution to be made, then the property should be given to the Lord. Numbers 5:8 teaches, “If the man has no redeemer to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution which is made for the wrong must go to the Lord.”