Finding Wisdom in Proverbsනියැදිය

Honesty

The Best Defense for a Bad Memory

An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.

Proverbs 24:26

How, exactly, is an honest answer like a kiss on the lips? Come to think of it, are we talking about kissing, or honesty, or both?

This proverb comes from a section of the book called “the sayings of the wise.” But we might as well call it “strange sayings that make you scratch your head.” What does this verse mean? What is the relationship between an honest answer and a kiss on the lips?

There are three points of comparison: (1) Just as it is relatively rare to be kissed on the lips, even so, it is relatively rare to hear a true and honest answer. (2) Just as a kiss on the lips means more than a kiss on the cheek, even so, an honest answer is a mark of true sincerity. (3) Just as a kiss on the lips can be and should be deeply satisfying to the soul, even so, an honest answer is satisfying to the soul.

Let’s face it. We live in a cynical age when truth is in short supply.

• The polls show we don’t think our leaders are honest.

• Our motto seems to be: “Tell the truth as long as it is convenient.”

• When an election rolls around, it’s open season on the truth.

• One campaign has a “Truth Squad”; the other has a “Department of Defense.”

• “If you lie about me, I will lie about you.”

In the process, truth is first devalued, then lost altogether. Proverbs 6:16–19 tells us the seven things the Lord hates. Two especially deal with the lack of honesty: a lying tongue and the false witness who pours out lies. Proverbs 14:25 says, “A truthful witness saves lives, but a false witness is deceitful.” According to Proverbs 12:19, “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.”

This week I read about a man who told a lie at work. He said, “I got in trouble, and I told a lie to cover up what I had done. But then I found I needed to tell another lie to cover up the first lie. But then I had to tell a third lie to cover up the first two lies I told. Then I had to tell another one to cover up the third lie, a fifth lie to cover up the fourth lie. I kept on until I finally sat down and counted up and realized I had to tell forty-two lies in a row to cover up for the first one.”

Another man was fired from a high-level executive job. The reason was simple: lying, bending the truth. It wasn’t out-and-out scheming as much as an ignored opportunity to come clean. When challenged, he covered up and was discovered. He was the company’s rising star — personally changing the face of a multimillion-dollar business. He lost his job because he couldn’t tell the truth.

If you lose your money, you can always make some more. If you lose your integrity, you may never get it back. Tell the truth the first time, and you won’t have to worry about having a bad memory.

Spirit of Truth, create in me a love for the truth and a holy hatred for lying. Make me an honest person in all my dealings. Amen.

1. Do you consider yourself (a) scrupulously honest, (b) mostly honest, (c) honest when it counts, or (d) honest when it is convenient?

2. How can someone struggling in this area take steps toward honesty?