The Importance of Honesty

"An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips." -Proverbs 24:26 NIV

I just want to start off by saying that this is one of my favorite verses. This is one of my favorite verses because of how truthful it is. In most circumstances, a kiss on the lips is an act of affection that most people in life consider to be a good (or pleasant) thing. If you're like me, then you strongly dislike when people lie to you or seem to hide the truth from you. Therefore, you find great pleasure when you find honest people that are not afraid to tell you the truth even if it hurts. To further emphasize the importance of honesty, I am going to show how it is important in different circumstances and situations.

In a Relationship: A relationship scenario is the first one that I thought of. (I bet you can easily see how I thought of a relationship first.) Honesty is a key part in maintaining a healthy, successful relationship. It is important to let your partner know how you feel, if you dislike a certain relationship dynamic, or if you simply find one of your partner's actions irritating. If you keep this information to yourself, how is your partner supposed to know how you are feeling? Not being honest with your partner can lead to more arguments in the relationship as well as a possible termination of the relationship.. Wouldn't you hate to miss out on a potentially awesome relationship because of a lack of honest communication?

In the Workplace: Here is another place that it is important to be honest. I know it may be oh-so-easy for some people to lie on their resumes to further enhance the possibility of getting the job. For others, it might be easier for them to schedule their work hours too closely to their school hours to try to get more hours. Either way, your actions end up being detrimental to yourself. What if you find yourself overwhelmed trying to complete a task that you are not qualified to do but your boss thinks that you are? What if you find yourself stressed speeding down the streets (or running across campus) to try to arrive on time to keep from losing your job? Being honest about your credentials and availability can keep you out of these predicaments as well as possibly make your boss very happy. (I don't know if that will guarantee you a kiss though. Haha, okay bad joke. Feel free to move onto the next point.)

With Yourself: If you cannot be honest with yourself, who can you be honest with? Ultimately, you know yourself pretty darn well. You know your strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. Do not take on more than you can handle. Do not be a "yes man" (or woman). At the end of the day, you have the right to tell people no if completing these tasks will make you feel overwhelmed. Overall, your mental health is something that is important as well. If you know your weaknesses, pray to God for Him to help you find a way to strengthen your weaknesses. And as for you strengths.. Use your strengths to help upbuild others. Where you are strong, another person might be weak. When you are honest with yourself, you can help yourself become a better person. And who does not want to be a better person?

I have just personally shared with you three ways in which honesty is important. Do not get this mistaken; honesty is important in way more than these three situations. However, these three situations were on my heart to share with you because I have personally been through these three. I have had a guy who I really liked (and lost) because he did not tell me something was bothering him, something that could have easily been changed if he had only told me sooner. However, he only told me after he had made his decision... I have scheduled work hours way too closely to my school hours and ended up struggling to make it on time. Finally, I have not been honest with myself at times. I have taken on way too much at certain times. I have tried to deny my weaknesses instead of trying to strengthen them. I have also withheld my strengths from someone who has been struggling because my strength is one of his/her weaknesses. No, I am not proud of it. However, we all make mistakes and life is a continual learning process.

Take Care, God Bless, & Be Honest.

Unfair Punishment?

There were many times as a child that I felt as if some punishments were unfair. There were many instances where I've seen a group of kids find a way to get themselves in trouble while only a few (or maybe even one) pay the consequences for everyone's actions. 

Looking at this from a young adult perspective, I know that there have been plenty of instances when I have personally seen people that do not necessarily seem to live a life that is pleasing to God. It also seemed to me that these people seemed to live lives that seemed almost too good to be true. Every single thing seems to be going for them in life... While they're enjoying life, here I am. As a Christian, I'm going through so many trials and tribulations that are beginning to really take a toll on me. From there, I begin to wonder a question that I've wanted to ask so many times: Why God? Why does this life seem so unfair? Here I am struggling to follow Your word, to live a life pleasing to You, to continuously look to You for guidance, to spread Your name, and to be the best person that I can be while other people who aren't doing this seem to be living better lives...

Ultimately, to me, it seemed unfair. Finally, I realized something. Everyone does not receive the same punishment for their actions. Different punishments work better for different people. Even though at the moment, it may not seem as if every person in that group (or even the world) is not receiving a punishment for their actions, it will happen as some point in their lives and it will happen in different ways.

You may remember the oh-so-famous story from Genesis about Adam, Eve, and the serpent? Well, in a nutshell, God instructed them not to eat of the tree of knowledge. A serpent came along and enticed Eve into eating of the forbidden fruit. After eating it, she brought some forbidden fruit to Adam and he ate of it as well. Not only did God punish the serpent, but he also punished the Eve and Adam as well.

Serpent: "And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life" -Genesis 2:14
Eve: "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring fort children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over them." -Genesis 3:16
Adam: "And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and eaten of the tree, which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field" -Genesis 3:17-18

Therefore, we all will get penalized for our actions. It doesn't matter if you are the one who entices or the one who is enticed. Ultimately, the serpent, Adam, and Eve are penalized. Keep this in mind as you continue to walk through your Christian journey. Even if it doesn't seem like or isn't as visible, everyone will be penalized for their actions.