THE REWARDS OF HONESTY

One of the traits that made Harry S. Truman a great president was his honesty. In fact, it was more important to him than the presidency.

During the presidential campaign against Thomas Dewey, his staff notified him that his campaign funds were running low. When one of his supporters was presented with this information, he approached Truman and said, “I’ll give you what you need if, when you become president, you will use your office to get policies that will benefit me.”

“Give your money or keep it,” said Truman, “but I’m not making any deals.”

His response electrified his staff, and they began to work harder than ever. As a result, the money coming into his election committee increased dramatically, and Truman went on to win the election.

We read in Proverbs that, “The Lord hates cheating, but He delights in honesty.” That advice is about as straightforward as it gets. And, there is no way to get around it.

Honesty is easy to verify: We are either honest, or we are not honest. We either tell the truth, or we deceive others. There are no “degrees” in honesty. We can’t be 99% honest and 1% dishonest or somewhere in between. It’s 100% or nothing.

Honesty is necessary for a Christian’s integrity.

Prayer:  It is so easy, Lord, to compromise the truth when we want to fulfill some worldly desire. Cleanse us from deceit and fill our minds and mouths with the truth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture For Today:      The Lord hates cheating, but He delights in honesty. Proverbs 11:1