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"Whatever you say let your 'yes be a
plain 'yes' and your 'no' a plain 'no'." Matthew
5:37
Few virtues are more impressive than honesty.
Few qualities are more to be admired than the honesty of purpose,
of word and deed, which determines to stand by one's promises
and to meet one's obligations.
The Christian has in Christ the pattern person
who exemplifies this virtue, for honesty was the pervasive
quality of the life of Jesus.
Nothing can he right in a person's life if he
lacks honesty. Jesus acted honestly in every situation in
which He found Himself, no circumstance could make Him deviate
from his honest way of speech and conduct.
John Puskin described a statue in a Venice church.
It was of a man with parts of the profile seen and unseen.
He called it "a lying monument" which testified
to the character of the sculptor who carved it. What was seen
was perfect but the unseen was rough and unfinished. He went
on to say that the sculptor was banished from the city in
1487 as a forgery.
Jesus who wanted ungently to win people for
his cause was always frank and open with them. There was His
encounter with "the rich young ruler" when He spelled
out what His discipleship meant and the men found the conditions
too hard for him.
Jesus preached against selfishness, insensitivity
and hypocrisy. He taught that honesty, sincerity, is to speak
as we think, to do as we promise, to perform and make good
that to which we have committed ourselves.
People generally condemn the obviously dishonest.
We have laws to punish them. But many are not always or often
dishonest, insincere, they are sometimes just not strong enough
to stand for principle regardless of the response of others.
Insincerity is at its worst when it takes on the face of piety.
Dishonesty in religion is well known for there have been many
notorious cases of deceit in the pursuit of the spoils of
a religion, which can make the unscrupulous trader in people's
innocence a wealthy man or woman.
Christ demands that the Christian be utterly
true, entirely trustworthy. Any examination of the inner life
of Jesus discloses His purity of thought and deed. He looked
behind the public appearance of a person to see what he was
really like.
It is a fact of life that people can sometimes
do good for selfish purposes. To be good is the essential
aspiration of all who would seek to follow Christ. It is a
proper principle to strive to have the respect of other people.
More than that we need to so live that we can respect ourselves.
It is possible, as we know, to show an appearance
of honesty, sincerity and decency but we are what we are in
our inmost thoughts and emotions. We know whether the approval
we receive is earned or not.
Jeremy Taylor made the point:
"He that does as well in private between God
and his own soul as in public, hath given himself a testimony
that his purposes are full of honesty, nobleness and integrity."
Longfellow described an honest man:
"You know I say, Just what I think, and nothing
more nor less, And when I pray, my heart is in my prayer,
I cannot say one thing and mean another:
If I can't pray I wll not make believe." We are
reminded by the writer of "Hebrews".
"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's
sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the
eyes of Him to whom we must give account." 4:13.
It is important that we live honestly with our fellows, with
ourselves but more important that we live right with God.
The life of Jesus has these three elements.
The initial requirement of our Christian faith is reality,
sincerity, honesty. F.W. Robertson explained:
"A Christian is a man on whose clear and open
brow God has set the stamp of truth; one whose very eye
beams bright with honour; in whose very look and bearing
you may see freedom, manliness and veracity; a brave man
...... a noble man ...... frank, generous and true ......
"
Our religion is intensely practical. It expresses
itself best in the good quality of those whose are truly
Christ-like.
Jonathan Edwards in his blunt way spells it out:
"A greater absurdity cannot be thought of than
a morose, hard hearted, covetous, proud, malicious Christian.
Canon Dr. S.E. Long
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