The Value of Honesty (Exodus 20:16)
At midnight, one spring evening in 1987, a terrible thing happened: Seven million American children suddenly disappeared. No, it wasn’t a mass kidnapping or a serial killer. It was the IRS. They had changed a rule for the night of April 15, which for the first time required a Social Security number for every dependent child listed on form 1040. Suddenly, seven million children – children who had been claimed as exemptions on the previous year’s 1040 forms – vanished, representing about one in ten of all dependent children in the United States. (Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner, Freakonomics, HarperCollins, 2005, p. 21)
Lying has become so prevalent in our society that we hardly think about it anymore.
Just two years ago, a massive study involving nearly 70,000 U.S. college and high school students found that 70% had admitted to cheating. That was a 14% increase from 1993 and a 44% hike since 1963. The Duke University report also indicated that Internet plagiarism had quadrupled in the previous six years.
A separate poll of 25,000 high schoolers found that nearly half agreed with the statement, “A person has to lie or cheat sometimes in order to succeed.” (“Culture Clips,” Plugged In, June 2006, p. 2)
Unfortunately, this sentiment is not only limited to the young. Adults too have similar attitudes. According to a Reader’s Digest survey of 2,624 readers, 13% had shifted blame to a co-worker for something they did; 18% had misstated facts on a resume/job application; & 32% had lied to their spouse about the cost of a recent purchase. Furthermore, 63% had called in sick at work when not sick; 71% had lied to friends or family members about their appearance, to avoid hurting their feelings (“How Honest Are You?” Reader’s Digest, Jan 2004; www.Preaching Today.com) And I wonder: how many lied on the survey?
We are a nation of liars. Everybody is doing it, but does it really matter?
Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Exodus 20, Exodus 20, where God shows us what really matters.
A new nation is being established on Mt. Sinai, where God establishes the principles for a strong, healthy society. We recognize them as the 10 commandments, but they are foundational principles for all healthy relationships. This morning, we are looking at the 9th commandment.
Exodus 20:16 You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
The picture here is of a court of law where a witness is called upon to testify about what he saw a neighbor do. In that case, the witness is called upon to refrain from any groundless or false accusations. I.e., he must not make any statements that are not based on fact. The integrity of our court system depends on witnesses who in fact “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
But God doesn’t want us to limit our honesty to the courtroom. Whether we’re under oath or not, God expects us to always “speak truthfully” with one another.
Turn with me to Ephesians 4, Ephesians 4, where we have the New Testament commentary on this commandment. Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truth-fully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
In this community we call “the church,” our speaking truthfully to one another is vitally important for preserving “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” That’s what this chapter is all about according to verse 3.
Now, we don’t have to be mean or harsh with the truth, but “speaking the truth in love” (verse 15) will help our church “grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.” In other words, when we are honest with each other, our church grows up to become strong and healthy, reflecting the faithfulness and integrity of Christ.
Honesty is important! Truth really does matter in all our relationships! Because 1st of all HONESTY HONORS CHRIST. BEING TRUTHFUL MAKES OUR JESUS LOOK GOOD BEFORE A WATCHING WORLD.
When we, as followers of Christ, are honest in all our dealings, it reflects well on Christ and all of his followers. But when we are dishonest, we bring dishonor to Christ and His church.
There has been a time or two in some of my previous churches, when people have told me, “I’ll never come to your church because so-and-so is a member there. He’s a hypocrite. He cheated me in business or he promised me something and didn’t follow through.”
Now, that church member’s behavior reflected poorly on the church. But worse than that, it kept some from trusting Christ as their Savior, for as they said, “if that’s what Christianity is all about, I get better treatment from my drinking buddies at the bar.”
Dear friends, the way we do business, or the way we interact with people in this community, reflects positively or negatively on Christ and His church. We can’t be a “good Christian” on Sunday, and be dishonest in our dealings with people Monday through Friday. It just doesn’t work. Our Christianity has to follow us throughout the week; otherwise it is no Christianity at all, and it discredits everything we’re trying to do here at Bethel Church. It discredits our message that Jesus Christ is worth living for.
Golfer Chelsee Richard, of Bloomingdale High School in Brandon, Florida, lost her chance to win the 2004 state championship—by being honest. In the qualifier for the state finals, Chelsee hit her tee shot on the second hole into the rough. Without knowing it, she played another golfer’s ball out of the rough and finished the hole. On the third hole, she realized what she had done. The rule is that a golfer must declare the wrong ball penalty before putting on the hole where the infraction occurred, or be disqualified.
Drawing strength from her favorite Bible verse, Philippians 4:13, Chelsee reported her error, a painful ending to her senior season and her dream of going to state. She later said: “With my faith and with God, being honest was the most important thing to me, and that’s what is going to advance on throughout my life, being honest and making the right choices.” (www.OfftheFringes. com newsletter, November, 2004; www.PreachingToday.com)
That young lady not only did herself a favor in the long run. Her honesty spoke very well of her Christian faith and the Lord she serves.
Honesty is important. The truth really does matter, because it honors Christ. It makes our Christianity attractive before a watching world.
More than that, HONESTY HEALS BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS. BEING TRUTHFUL STRENGTHENS OUR CONNECTIONS. IT BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER, rather than tears them apart.
Ephesians 4:3 tells us that it preserves “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” The whole chapter is about bringing people together, giving us practical ways to experience the unity we enjoy in Christ. But that only happens, according to verse 25, when we “put off falsehood and speak truthfully” to one another. That’s because dishonesty destroys unity. It ruins relationships.
Ed Rowell, of Monument, Colorado, talks about the time when he was in high school. He had a friend named Christina, who was very gullible. He and his classmates loved telling her ridiculous things, because they knew she would always believe them.
Once, Ed told Christina that he was going to have surgery. When she asked what kind, he told her they were removing his liver. She bought it hook, line, and sinker. She asked for details about the surgery, which Ed provided in great detail. When their conversation ended, he figured the first person she told about his condition would tell her that no one can live without a liver.
But when Ed came home that night, his mother was furious. She had gone to their small town’s general store to get some groceries, and there on the counter sat a gallon jar with Ed’s picture on it. A sign taped to its side said, “Donations for Eddie Rowell’s Surgery.” Mom was, in her words, “embarrassed to death,” and wanted to know where that story had started. So Ed told her. Though Mom pummeled him a bit, Ed still thought it was funny, but his smile faded when his mom made him call Christina.
As they talked on the phone, Christina thought it was even less funny than Ed’s mother. She didn’t consider it a joke; she considered it a lie. Out of compassion, she’d gone all around town telling people about his surgery, and now she was hurt, angry, and embarrassed. She started crying and hung up. Ed started thinking that maybe it wasn’t so funny after all.
Things were never the same after that. Ed thought a lot about apologizing to Christina, but could never quite bring himself to do it. Just two years after they graduated from high school, Christina was killed in a car wreck. Ed wished a hundred times since that he had told her he was sorry he lied to her. He would have loved to have heard her say, “You’re forgiven.” (Ed Rowell, Monument, Colorado; www.PreachingToday.com)
Even as a joke, Ed’s lie ruined his friendship with Christina. & His refusal to admit that he was wrong kept them apart until it was too late.
My friends, if a lie has kept you and someone else apart, don’t perpetuate the lie by refusing to admit what you did. Instead, start telling the truth. “Confess your sins to each other,” James 5:16 says, so “that you may be healed,” i.e., “you” plural.
In other words, when we are honest with each other, when we honestly admit our sins to each other, then everyone in the relationship experiences healing. Everyone experiences a sense of well-being, and the relationship itself is healed.
Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”
Dishonesty destroys unity, but honesty preserves unity. Telling the truth brings people together, instead of tearing them apart.
When the father of the great Emmanuel Kant was an old man, he made a dangerous trip through the forests of Poland to his native country of Silesia. On the way, he met up with some robbers who demanded all his valuables. At the end of the ordeal, they asked him, “Have you given us all?” and they let him go only when he answered, “All.”
Then, when Mr. Kant was safely out of their sight, his hand touched something hard in the hem of his robe. It was his gold, sewn there for safety, which he quite forgot in all his fear and confusion.
At once, he hurried back to find the robbers, and having found them, he said meekly, “I have told you what was not true; it was unintentional. I as too terrified to think. Here, take the gold in my robes.”
Then to the old man’s astonishment, nobody offered to take his gold. After a moment, one robber went and brought back his purse. Another robber restored his book of prayer, while still another led his horse to him and helped him to mount. They then all asked for his blessing and watched him slowly ride away. That day, truth triumphed over thievery. (Darren McCormick, www.SermonCentral.com)
It’s amazing what the truth will do to our relationships! Now, I can’t guarantee that the results will always be this dramatic and quick. But I can guarantee that the truth will do more to heal our relationships than any lie ever will.
Honesty is important. The truth really does matter, because #1, it honors Christ; #2, it heals relationships; and #3, HONESTY HELPS EACH OF US PERSONALLY. BEING TRUTHFUL GIVES US PERSONAL CREDIBILITY.
Whereas, dishonesty destroys our credibility and always comes back to haunt us.
If you will, turn with me please to Deuteronomy 19, Deuteronomy 19, where the penalty for being a false witness is described. Deuteronomy 19, starting at vs.16 (read to vs.19) Here, God makes it very clear that a false witness is to get the same penalty he hoped to have inflicted upon the accused.
Flywheel is a film about Jay, a Christian used-car salesman who has been grossly overcharging his customers. In one scene, he manipulates the sale of a car to his pastor.
The pastor is looking at a Camry, which the dealership has listed in its files at $6,500. He wants to buy the car for his daughter, Lindsay. So Jay tells his pastor, “I’ve got $8,500 in this car. If you want, I’ll give it to you for $9,000.”
Thinking it over, the Reverend decides to take it for a test drive. A later scene shows Jay’s pastor signing on the dotted line, buying the Camry for $9,000. The pastor says to Jay, “Thanks. You’ve treated me so well today. I would like to do something for you. I’d like to pray and ask God to bless you and your business.”
Then he puts his hand on Jay’s shoulder, and says, “Lord, today I come before you and thank you for this day. I thank you for Jay and his business. I thank you for the car for Lindsay, and I ask that you protect her and give her grace as she drives this car. And Lord, I ask that you treat Jay just like he treated me today in this deal. In your name I pray, Lord, Amen.” (Flywheel, Sherwood Pictures, 2003, directed and written by Alex Kendrick; www.PreacingToday.com)
How would we like it if God treated us the same way we have treated others? But that’s a principle of life: We reap what we sow. If we sow dishonesty, we reap being discredited; we reap personal destruction. If we are consistently late on our payments, if we don’t follow through on our commitments, if we lie in these and other ways, then people learn not to trust us, and they stop doing business with us.
The TIAA-CREF “Trust in America” survey, in January 2006, asked the following question of investors: “Would you choose a financial services company with strong ethics or higher returns?” The response: Strong ethics—92 percent; Higher returns—5 percent; Not sure—3 percent. (“Snapshots,” USA Today, 1-16-06, B1; www.PreachingToday.com)
Dishonesty discredits us, but honesty gives us real credibility. It really does help us in the long-run.
In northeast Kansas, a friend of mine built a very successful construction company on one simple principle: “Don’t promise what you can’t deliver, and always deliver what you promise.” In the early days, he and his wife were living in the basement of their unfinished home. Today, they live in a very beautiful home, and he has construction contracts all across the country.
That’s because he built his company on the principle of basic honesty, and people appreciated that very much! When he said a job was going to be done by such-and-such a date, he didn’t go one day over. Early on, there were some very late nights and long days, and sometimes he completed jobs on time to his own hurt, because he had to pay overtime wages to his workers. But then he learned not to make promises he couldn’t keep, and he made sure he kept every promise.
It’s basic honesty, and in the long-run it paid off handsomely.
In 1978, Marie Bothe and Edith Gripton began their own auto parts business, called Wetherill Associates, Inc. They rebuild and distribute replacement car parts in an industry not typically associated with female entrepreneurs.
Even so, their idea was to develop a business based on ethical practices. They wanted their company to be a living example of the maxim: “Right actions lead to right results. Wrong action leads to wrong results.”
They train their employees to apply ethical standards to all matters of their job performance. For example, sales people are told never to pressure customers, never to discredit competitors, never to use negative sales tactics, and – most of all – under no conditions are they to lie.
Is it possible to make it with such an idealistic business plan in the dog-eat-dog world of used car parts? In 1978, most of the people in the industry laughed at such an idea. But they’re not laughing anymore. Three decades later, Wetherill Associates is still going strong. Sales are in the hundreds of millions; profits are in the tens of millions, and the company is debt-free. (Steve May, www.Sermonnotes.com)
Honesty is ALWAYS the best policy. It honors Christ. It heals relationships. & In the long run, it helps us gain real credibility.
At the age of 24, Abraham Lincoln earned an annual income of $55.70 as postmaster at the post office in New Salem, Illinois. In 1836, the post office closed, and several years passed before an agent from Washington D.C. came to settle accounts. In the meantime, Lincoln was struggling as a young lawyer to make ends meet.
When the agent finally arrived, he reviewed the books and informed Mr. Lincoln that the closed post office owed the U.S. government $17. Lincoln crossed the open room, opened an old trunk and took out a yellowed cotton rag bound with a string. Untying the cloth he spread out the seventeen dollars. He had been holding it for all those years. “I never use any man’s money but my own,” he said.
Now, I suppose Mr. Lincoln could have lied about the money and gotten away with it, but that’s not the kind of man he was. Long before he entered the White House, 24 years to be exact, the former rail splitter was showing the character that earned him the title of “Honest Abe.” (Rick Atchley, Sinai Summit, as cited by Darren McCormick on www.SermonCentral.com)
It was that kind of character that caused him to be remembered as one of our country’s greatest presidents. Because it was that kind of character that helped him bring together a nation that was deeply divided during the years of the civil war.
My friends, imagine what could happen here on Washington Island if we all committed ourselves to that kind of honesty.
