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HONESTY IS ALWAYS THE BEST POLICY
Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. 2 Corinthians 8:21 The other day I went to Sam’s Warehouse to shop. They always have samples in the aisles to lure you into buying their merchandise. Samples such as, fried fish, chicken fingers, pasta, fruit, and the yummy list goes on. Roger, one of our deacons, takes his wife Betty there on their anniversary. It’s free and you can’t beat the variety! (Just kidding, Roger!) Anyway, after sampling all the wonderful delicacies, I was getting a bit thirsty. They don’t give you samples of drinks. You have to buy them. Pretty clever don’t you think? I checked out and loaded my goodies into the car and decided to get a diet soda from the machine. I deposited my sixty-five cents and received two for the price of one. I could not, with a clear conscience, keep the extra - that would be stealing. A gentleman sitting near the machines saw what was happening and suggested I keep my jackpot. After all, those pesky machines have a tendency to keep your money without giving you your purchase the majority of the time. I told the man that I could not do that and went inside to find an employee to return the drink. I handed the cold cola to a lady and explained to her what had happened. She said that someone must have forgotten to pick theirs up. I then explained that the machine made a mistake. I just wanted to return it. She looked at the drink and then at me and said with a confused look on her face, “Well, O.K. thank you.” Being honest is not the norm today. How many times have you returned the extra money you received from change? Or did you? Shame on you, if you didn’t. As Christians we have more of a responsibility to be honest for our testimony’s sake. Back in Abram’s day (before he became Abraham), there was a famine in the land (Genesis 12:10-20). So, Abram packed up his absolutely gorgeous wife Sarai ( before she became Sarah) and headed down to Egypt. Hopefully finding a Sam’s Warehouse on the way to check out the samples there. But before he crossed the border, he instructed Sarai, “Now, Sarai, you are one of the most beautiful women in the world. But if one of the Egyptians happen to come up to you and asks you if you are my wife, just deny it. If you don’t, they will kill me and keep you for themselves. Just say that you are my sister; after all, that is only half a lie. You will save my life if you will do this.” Abram convinced his beautiful wife of the seriousness of the situation. Now Sarai did not want to put her husband’s life in danger, so she agreed to his plan. Sure enough, as they passed over the Egyptian border, the Egyptians and the princes of Pharaoh saw this fair damsel and immediately took her to Pharaoh’s house. Pharaoh had plans to take Sarai as his wife since Abram and Sarai told him she was Abram’s sister. Because of the lie, God sent plagues to Pharaoh and his house. This really upset Pharaoh ( I can only imagine). He called Abram to the throne room and asked him, “Why in the world did you lie to me? Look at all the trouble you have caused! Now, pack up your stuff and get out of here as fast as you can.” This should have been a lesson for Abram and Sarai, but apparently Abram did not learn his lesson the first time. He tried the same trick again in chapter 20:1-18. Many people suffered because of the one lie that Abram and Sarai told. God hates dishonesty. Remember Achan hiding the gold and the garment in Joshua 7:11-26? Look what happened to him and his entire family because of his dishonesty. What about Ananais and Sapphira? There are consequences to our sin of dishonesty. God may not send a plague, or let the earth devour you and your family. You may not even drop dead as a result of your lie. But the results may be just as devastating. The good news is, we serve a forgiving God. If you are His child, the Holy Spirit will convict your heart. The world is watching to see if your relationship is real, right down to the bone. By the way, my paid for diet drink tasted wonderful and quenched my thirst. I could have kept the extra and no one would have known the difference except that gentleman watching me. I left Sam’s knowing I had done what was right.
COMMON HONESTY SHOULD BE MORE THAN COMMON
Other Scriptures: Proverbs 11:18;Proverbs 12:22; Romans 12:17; Romans 13:13; 2 Corinthians 4:2
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