Always Be Honest

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices Colossians 3:9

Try to answer the following questions honestly. Would you lie in order to get yourself out of a jam? Impress someone? Avoid dealing with the consequences of your actions? Well, how did you do? In a major survey in the USA people were asked, ‘What would you be willing to do for $10 million?’ (Are you sitting down?) Twenty-five per cent said they’d be willing to abandon their families. Twenty-three per cent said they’d be willing to become a prostitute for a week. And 7 per cent said they’d be willing to murder a stranger. Are you shocked? Maybe you’re thinking that you’d never do that. Well, don’t be so quick – the survey showed that Christians were ‘almost as likely as non-Christians’ to falsify their tax returns, call in sick when they weren’t, cheat on their mates, and tear down someone else’s character to make themselves look better. Think about it – have you done any of those things lately? If you have, read these words carefully and prayerfully: ‘Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him’ (vv. 9-10). Pay particular attention to the words ‘put on your new nature’. Honesty is a garment you have to put on every day. So start modelling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me be a person of honesty in all circumstances – even what seem to be minor issues. In Jesus’ Name, Amen