Friday, July 27, 2007

Are You Honest?

Make yourself an honest man, and then you may be sure that there is one less scoundrel in the world.- -- Thomas Carlyle

Finding a few extra moments to spend online at Starbucks, I thought I would leave a short post with a quote for your review. It seems too simple for our complex minds, but we can truly change the world one person at a time. Honesty would be the place to start. First, be honest to yourself, then be honest to your family, and be honest with the entire world. Why is honesty such a difficult thing for some people? Let me hear your take on this subject.

By the way, the big tent is up and camp is ready to begin. I will post pictures of it all when camp is over.

8 comments:

  1. Hi Jana,

    I liked the quote. I think honesty is hard for people because of our fallen, sinful nature. Jeremiah coined us perfectly when he said "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desparately wicked: who can know it?" (Jer 17:9) But when God cleans up a life through repentance, baptism and the infilling of His Spirit, we are new creatures, and honesty should follow with the help of our Lord leading and guiding us into all truth.

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  2. Karen - thanks for dropping by. I believe we can only be honest with God's help.

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  3. Good quote. I agree with Karen, my beautiful, wise, elder sister. Sometimes honesty can hurt, but I'd rather be hurt by honesty than have a false sense of security because of a lie.

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  4. Like Karen said, it is hard to be honest because of our sinful nature. First, to be honest with one's self, a person has to step back and look at self. IF one did that, then that person would see things that ought not to be and he/she would have to make a change and that is where the problem lies. For the most part one doesn't want to make a change. Until we are first honest with ourselves we cannot be honest with our family or anyone else. Like you said Sis. Allard, we can only be honest with God's help. Question is, are we going to allow Him to help? If we do, then we will HAVE to step back and look at our life and be honest and say "yes, I need a change" and allow Him to help us make that change.

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  5. Carol and Jolene - thanks for your input. Honesty is such a huge topic and it seems as if it is rarely addressed. It is true, Carol, that sometimes it hurts. I think that is a key issue because people run from hurt when sometimes they need to face the hurt to solve the situation.

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  6. Hi Jana, I like the quote but am not so sure it's a black and white deal. Some things are best left unsaid. Some questions are best answered, Huh. Sometimes there's a fine line between honesty and being a mean blabbermouth. Helen

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  7. I think being honest most times requires a person to reveal their weakness(es). Humans despise weakness and generally view it as something ugly. But like that scripture where it says through our weakness He is made strong, I think it glorifies God when we are honest and true.
    On a lighter note--what to do if your loved one asks you if their outfit makes them look fat? Hhhhmmm..... =)

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  8. Helen - you are right that some things are better left unsaid, but remember "unsaid" is not dishonest. We would never want to be a mean blabbermouth.

    Janelle - the lighter comment made me crack up! I think the best way to handle your relative asking if they look fat is to tell them they should never ask such a question because they should wear clothes that make them feel confident. You could add I think that outfit is sharp, pretty, or don't add anything. LOL

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