Honesty

— For the week of March 3, 2010 —

Truth has only to exchange hands a few times
to become fiction.

Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
Who may live on your holy hill?
He whose walk is blameless
and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart.
— Psalm 15: 1,2

There's a story about three little boys who found a stray puppy. They were fussing over who would get the puppy and what to name the puppy.

They agreed that whoever could tell the biggest lie got to keep and name the puppy. A minister, overhearing the boys' plan, interrupted, "Boys, I'm disappointed in you. When I was your age, I never told a lie under any circumstance."

The boys looked at each other, handed the puppy to the preacher, and in unison said, "Reverend, whatcha gonna name your new puppy?"

A survey revealed that 66 percent of Americans feel it is not wrong to tell a lie. Only 31 percent agree that "Honesty is the best policy."

The integrity crisis that has infected this nation has prompted a movement of men called "Promise Keepers." Their focus is not only to be men of the Word, but men who keep their word.

As revealed in the story above, others know when we are not being truthful. As ministers of the truth, we must model truth, and being truthful 90 percent of the time is not integrity — it's hypocrisy!

Develop the habit of honesty and truthfulness in your life and your ministry. Being honest for the moment is oftentimes difficult, but being honest through the years brings peace and purity of heart.

Taken from The Minister's Little Devotional Book.
Copyright © 1997 by H.B. London Jr. and Stan Toler.
Used by permission of RiverOak Publishing, Tulsa, Okla.
All rights reserved.