Devotional Day 6: Honesty

• Leviticus 25:14 : "If you sell land to one of your countrymen or buy any from him, do not take advantage of each other."

• Proverbs 10:9 : "The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out."

• 1 Timothy 1:19 : "Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked."
• In life its important that you are honest to yourself, to others, and to Christ. Not only does it bring you self security because of a clear conscience, but it brings respect from others and contentment from God knowing you are obeying.

     I know selling land doesn't apply a lot in everyday life! However, in Leviticus 25:14 a very important message is brought up. Don't take advantage of people with your dishonesty. The unfortunate part about lying is that there are people that will believe those lies. Just because someone will buy what you're saying doesn't mean you take advantage of their ignorance to your true intention. Convincing someone of something just because you can temporarily get away with it is unfair. Not only will you break that trust with another person, but you weigh down your conscience and go against the guidelines God has laid out to protect you and others.

     In Proverbs 10:9 it speaks of being able to be proud of who you are as a person. When you know you are a honest person you can walk securely in who you are and be comfortable in what you do. There is no extra stress from the guilt you feel or consequences you suffer from dishonesty. You know that others can trust what you say when you say it without question. Just remember the story with the boy who cried wolf! Its a very valid example of what can happen when you display a honest character. Dishonesty affects your personal relationships with others. It can cause them pain and at times can even affect your spiritual relationship. Your guilt consumes your thinking like it says in 1 Timothy like it says above. A lot of times lying causes shame. You lose respect for yourself and you try and hide who you are or what you've done from God. What you have to understand is that God forgives you of all your transgressions. Now, another thing you have to remember is what I brought up in the paragraph above. Just because God and others will forgive you doesn't mean you take advantage of that forgiveness. If you do, the trust will be lost all over again just like it was before. The guilt will stick with you. Be a trustworthyperson so others can value you, God can be proud in what you do, and you can besecure with yourself.

                                                              Questions/Application

• How can you display a more honest character?
• Do you think others view you as an honest person?
• When was a time someone was dishonest with you? How did it make you feel? Compare that to times you've been dishonest. How do you think it made others feel?
• How does being honest make you feel?