“I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington
I recall a time when the one most common pieces of advice that parents, teachers, and leaders gave to children was “honesty is the best policy.” Unfortunately, these days the little pieces of wisdom that seem to be prevailing is “a little white lie never hurt anybody” or “the best lie is one you can get away with” or “what [they] don’t know won’t hurt [them].” It’s no wonder nobody trusts anyone outside their little circle any more. It’s no wonder that the legal world is rife technicalities and minute details to ensure all parties abide by an agreement. It’s NO WONDER that pieces of legislation are coming out with in an indiscernible 2500 pages of words only the authors understand! It is painfully obvious that handshake has lost its solemn honor and a man’s word is no longer good…without a notarized legal document of course. If we are to survive as a nation…a society…hell, as human beings, we simply must re-establish trust amongst ourselves. Imagine how much better our banks, insurers, and most of all governments would operate with a little honesty and trust. There would be no need for bribes, ultra-fine print, closed-door debates, and underhanded legislative tricks from EITHER party. A little honesty would go a long way to solving all of our problems. However, that honesty starts on the individual level. We have to start being honest with ourselves about who we are, what we believe, and most of all, our shortcomings. We can’t point out the speck in someone else’s eye without removing the plank in our own (Luke 6:41). Then we can begin to be honest with family…friends…co-workers…and so forth. Eventually, we can become an honest and honorable people again.
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The loss of an honest discourse is the the tip of this principle. With the loss of honesty comes the loss of trust, dependability and uprightness of conduct. When martital infidelity is simply a problem between two people. When "I did not have sex with that woman" becomes "Just trying to protect his family" becomes acceptable reasoning. A lie is still a lie and if some will lie and cheat on their spouse (whom they are suppose to love) and their vows, they will lie and cheat on those they don't know. I get real tired of hearing and reading of our national leaders who can't keep themselves. IT sould not be a supprise when they lie to us becuase they lie to their family.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, we must begin by calling a lie a lie. When one of our leaders lie and are caught, they say they "mis-spoke". They didn't mis-speak, they lied and someone made an issue out of their lie.
Third, we must stop confusing our language and say what we mean. Call a spade a spade, not a 'long handled scoop like implement whose purpose is to aid an individual in moving various kinds of soil or any other substance that might appropriate for the utilization for such an instrument as long as all parties agree on the proper use of said implement'.