Post by pitbull on Oct 8, 2009 6:09:46 GMT -5
HONESTY, STILL THE BEST POLICY
Galatians 4:16 is one of four Bible verses that I consider my “life verses”. It says, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” I grew up with a father who told me that he would rather have true enemy than a false friend. He lived his life like that. It was ingrained in me at an early age to be honest with all.
While at college, I found out that some rumors I had believed about a guy there were false. Due to that, I went to find him. He was sitting in the cafeteria and eating lunch with some friends. I went up and greeted him, then apologized to him publically. I could not stand the fact that I had participated in a lie and believed it in my heart.
Later, at one job interview, I had a manager ask me a couple strange questions: “Are you a liar?” “Have you ever told a lie?” I answered “No” and “Yes” respectively. The manager shook my hand and noticed the puzzled look on my face. He explained that is how he tells if people are actually honest. If they say “no” to both questions, he knew they were liars.
Did you know the Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible are both known as truth?
• “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” [John 14:6]
• “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” [John 17:17]
As a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, the truth should be living in us.
As I tell people, I may have many flaws but I am not a liar or a hypocrite. Yet it amazes me how many professing Christians that I have met that don’t have this testimony. It makes me wonder if they realize how much they are hurting the testimony of Christ. Do they realize how much they are hindering the sharing of the Gospel?
Last spring someone asked if I ever get angry. Lying is one of the few things that will make me truly angry. Not only do I get angry [Matthew 5:22; Ephesians 4:26] with those who lie and profess to be a believer, but I have serious doubts about their salvation [Romans 1:29-32; 7:14-25; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 John 3:6, 9; 5:18; Revelations 21:8]. You cannot be a perpetual/pathological liar and truly be saved.
Do you want to be someone who is known for his or her honesty? First, you need to make sure of your salvation. How do you do that? We need to be honest with God and ourselves by admitting we are nothing more than vile, wretched sinners. [Psalm 14:1, 3; 51:5; Isaiah 53:6; 64:6; Romans 3:10, 23; 5:19; Galatians 3:22; 1 John 1:8] This is the first thing that must take place in order to get saved. Once you reach that point then you can obey Mark 1:15, John 6:28-29, Acts 16:30-31, Acts 17:30 and Romans 10:9, 13 to repent and ask Jesus to save you. Humble your heart and do this today.