Talk about honesty in Christianity: Honesty is one of many primary staples of Christianity. As Christians we are called to live honest lives, remaining honest even when it is hard and tempting.
Ask about honesty in the Bible: What does it mean to be an honest person according to the Bible?
Define Honest according to dictionary.com: According to dictionary.com, honesty is defined as “free of deceit and untruthfulness; sincere”. When referring to a person who is honest, they would be considered genuine.
Define Honesty according to the Bible dictionary: According to the Bible Dictionary, Honesty is referred to as an upright disposition (or a person’s qualities of mind and character) and a rectitude (or morally correct behavior or thinking) in dealing with others, probity and purity.
Talk about the primary aspects of honesty: It appears that there are several aspects to honesty. These include being morally correct in our words, actions, and thoughts.
Ask about being morally correct with words: What are some examples of being morally correct in our words? An example of being morally correct in words includes being honest and never putting others down.
Ask about being morally correct in our actions: What are some examples of being morally correct in our actions? An example of being morally correct in actions includes filing our taxes honestly.
Ask about being morally correct in our thoughts: What are some examples of being morally correct in our thoughts? An example of being morally correct in our thoughts includes resisting the temptation to dwell on a sexual fantasy with an attractive girl walking down the street.
Ask about difficulty with maintaining moral correction: What area is the hardest to control or has /*where one might have*/ the most difficulty in maintaining moral correction? I think most would agree that the thoughts are the hardest to control.
Ask about difficulty in controlling thoughts: Why is it so difficult to control our thoughts? Read Psalm 51:5 for the Biblical answer. Our thoughts are the easiest to hide from others. As the result of being born sinful, people are naturally judgmental and selfish within that sin nature. As Christians, we are told to turn away from our sinful tendencies.
Ask about being sinful at birth: Why are we sinful at birth? Read Romans 5:12-21 for the Biblical answer: Through Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God, all people have been cursed by sin. As the result of generational sin, we have the tendency to be dishonest.
Ask about difficulty with being honest: In what scenarios is it the most difficult to be honest? 1) When we know that we have messed up and know that the truth will result in a major consequence, 2) When we are sure that we can get away with what we did wrong, 3) When we believe that we are protecting someone as the result of not telling the truth.
Ask about dishonesty in the Bible: Can you think of a story in the Bible in which the outcome of dishonesty had dire consequences? A famous example in the Bible is when Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers because they were jealous of him being their father’s favorite child and Joseph’s prophetic abilities to decipher dreams. Read Genesis 37:1-36 for the full story.
Ask about Joseph’s brothers’ lies: Joseph’s brothers lied to Jacob, their father, about Joseph being devoured by a wild beast. What was the outcome of Joseph’s brothers’ lies and deceit? Joseph’s brothers Temporary selfish gain and regret were the outcomes of their lies. The brothers received 20 shekels of silver, which is equivalent to 200 dollars today. After Joseph returned, I’m sure his brothers felt shame and regret for their actions.
Read Acts 5:1-11 for another Bible story about lying: Could someone summarize this story? Ananias and Sapphira were a married couple who sold their land and informed Peter that they were giving all of the proceeds to the disciples – only they didn’t give all of it to the disciples. They lied, telling Peter that the amount they handed over was all of the money they had when in fact they had saved some back for themselves. When Peter confronted them, they died. While sudden death seems like a very harsh punishment for lying, it shows us how much God hates dishonesty.
Read Proverbs 6:16-19 for Scripture that talks about what God hates: Dishonesty is in a category of things that God hates the most. As a Christian, we should definitely try our best to remember these so that we could train ourselves to avoid them.
Ask about what the Bible says about lying: What does the Bible say about lying? Read Proverbs 12:22 for the answer: Lying and untrustworthiness are affiliated here. If we are dishonest with others, people will not trust us.
Ask about trustworthiness: What is the outcome of trustworthiness?: Proverbs 12:22 says that you will be delighted by God. Read Proverbs 11:28 for another part of the answer: Proverbs 11:28 says that you will flourish (Referring to blooming or flying. According to this, the product of righteousness, which includes remaining honest and faithful, is Biblical flourishing. According to the Bible Concordance, flourishing is similar to when a bird finally spreads its wings to fly for the first time or when a flower finally blooms. These are both vital milestones and changes in the lives of these organisms to deem them mature in their species. As for us, we will flourish and mature properly if we dedicate our life to honesty and righteousness.
Talk about the product of dishonesty: On the other hand, what is the product of a life filled with dishonesty? Read Psalms 31:18 for the answer: Typically, pride and contempt are the product of dishonesty. Contempt can be referred to as believing that others are inferior to you and deserve scorn. A contemptuous person is also considered snobbish and selfish.
Talk about the choices associated with honesty: There are two choices here. The first choice is living a life in which it is okay to be dishonest here and there or living a life dedicated to honesty and faithfulness. The second choice is living a life of honesty will result in flourishing and being delighted by God and living a life of dishonesty will result in pride and contempt.