Living Truthfully

Chuckle: "Old aunts used to come up to me at weddings, poking me in the ribs and cackle, "You're next!" They stopped after I started doing the same thing to them -- at funerals!

Quote: “Conquer a man who never gives by gifts; Subdue untruthful men by truthfulness; Vanquish an angry man by gentleness; And overcome the evil man by goodness.” -- Unknown source

"The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful" (Proverbs 12:22 NIV). "Good people are guided by their honesty; treacherous people are destroyed by their dishonesty" (Proverbs 11:3 NLT).

A few years back I was watching a golf tournament on TV. The commentators were discussing a young player, Brian Davis, who had voluntarily penalized himself two shots for inadvertently moving a reed on his back-swing prior to taking a shot from the rough. The violation of rule 13.4 against moving a loose impediment during a takeaway, was indiscernible but for slow motion replays. No one saw the reed move, and he could have taken the shot as if the infraction had never occurred and no one would have been the wiser. But his personal code of conduct would not allow him to do so. He said he could not have lived with himself if he had not reported the infraction.

When thinking about living truthfully, it's easy to justify untruthful conduct as long as we know nobody's watching. If the fear of getting caught motivates us to be truthful, then we aren't truthful at all. We are masquerading. We are being hypocritical. We are not what we want others to think we are. No, truthfulness comes from a set of character values deep within us that are more important to us than the possible rewards that being untruthful might bring -- like a chance to win your first PGA golf tournament with its million-dollar paycheck.

It should be our desire to live pure and holy lives before both God and other people. There is a definite relationship between living truthfully and living a holy life.

"The relationship between truth and holiness is similar to that between light and vision. Light cannot create an eye or give a blind eye vision, but it is essential to seeing. Wherever light penetrates, it dissipates darkness and brings everything into view. In a similar manner, truth cannot regenerate or impart spiritual life, but it is essential to the practice of holiness. Wherever truth penetrates, it dissipates error and reveals everything for what it really is." --Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Edited by Michael P. Green

Dishonesty, in words and actions, is the opposite of what God expects and honors; and honesty is more than just verbally telling the truth; it is living with integrity not only in what we say, but in what we do. If we want to please God and enjoy the respect of others, like the young golf pro has done, we will live truthfully in all circumstances.

Love, Jerry & Dotse