Honesty – Part 2
March 28, 2004
Dear Friends,
Dishonesty is so systemic that we really don’t realize how much it has impacted our society. Silly things like gates at toll booths are results of dishonesty. If everyone could be trusted to pay their toll, no gate would be needed. How about cashiers? If everyone was honest, you could just open the store and leave the cash out for people to make the appropriate change for themselves. In a totally honest society, you wouldn’t have much need for keys, locks, jails or lawyers. Imagine selling your home or your car on a handshake. Not going to happen very often, is it? The reason it is not going to happen, sorry to say, is that the risk is too great that you will be ripped off.
As we mentioned last week, dishonesty impacts us in an even more personal way in our relationships. We won’t allow our kids to sleepover with just anyone. We won’t let people get close to us in a lot of cases until we have gotten to know them and “checked them out.” Some people never get close to many people because for them the risk is too high. There is a risk/reward relationship in relationships. If we have been badly hurt in previous relationships by someone who was dishonest, we often are much more wary in new relationships. The downside is, of course, that in putting up such high barriers around ourselves, we miss out on the personal intimacy that makes life wonderful. Many find themselves in a personal struggle of trying to find the balance of keeping a safe distance so as not to get hurt and seeking for personal intimacy and connection with other people at the same time.
In an article that appeared in this morning’s newspaper, a man reported that he was sexually assaulted by a priest about 30 years ago. (3) In the article he describes how the assault left him unable to trust people. The man said “It cost me one marriage and almost cost me another. But the main thing it’s cost me is trust.” One dishonest act committed by one man against another three decades earlier changed this man’s life forever. No one should minimize acts of dishonesty — especially by those in authority.
This issue also trickles over into our spiritual lives although we may be loath to admit it. We find that we attribute these same dishonest characteristics that have hurt us so in life to both God and Jesus. When Jesus says “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” perhaps we find ourselves saying “I’ve heard that before.” When we are promised “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” we question in ourselves the propriety of giving our heart to Him in equal measure. Maybe he will let us down. Something deep within us wonders if He really means what He says and will deliver on what He has promised.
Suppose, just for a minute, that everything that the Bible contains is a ruse — some sort of God joke. Suppose that the crucifixion and the resurrection was God’s version of a trick played at the expense of us mortals. Again, assuming just for a minute that it were true, what do we gain by catching God in the act? We have the satisfaction that He didn’t pull a fast one on us. He didn’t get one over on old (fill in your name here). Yep, you were too smart for that. There is your reward — a self-congratulatory pat on the back. What have we lost? Nothing. There was nothing to gain in the first place.
Now, let’s suppose that it is just the opposite — the Bible really is true and that God really does love us and have a plan for us. Suppose we reject it because we don’t trust Him. What have we won? Nothing. What have we lost? Everything! The loss is immeasurable. We have lost everything and more. Once we understand this, we must drive that little voice of doubt out of our heads. The choice is obvious.
“Let us keep firm in the hope we profess, because the one who made the promise is trustworthy.” (Heb. 10:23)
Have a good week!
Kyle
(3) Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 29, 2004, “Priest to Be Sentenced in Assaults”
