Honesty

Honesty is something I practice because God says I should and because of that it is important to me.  I respect honesty and require it in my personal relationships. I think that being honest is a way of showing my respect for myself and my relationships.  Dishonesty is not an option.

As I have learned from my experiences in life, I am not as honest as I would like to be. I try. It's important, but I realize that at times I am dishonest by "omission" and that is something I have been working on. You know what I mean... Someone may ask me a question and there are times when it's just easier NOT to say something than to admit to something I'd rather not have anyone know. I guess that's why I have to practice honesty.

For me, honesty to myself and to God is my top priority. I try to always admit my true feelings to myself and to God. That way, I am not trying to stuff things away and ignore them, just to have them blow out of me in some destructive manner.

Honesty is a healthy thing just like exercise and good nutrition are healthy.  If I don't exercise, my muscles disappear and my body becomes sick.  If I practice poor nutrition, I will become physically sick. Both lack of exercise and poor nutrition cause outward, visible physical problems.  A lack of honesty breaks down integrity.  Too much dishonesty causes immorality, which is a sickness just like any physical sickness, except it also affects all those in a relationship with the dishonest person. So, living healthy means living honestly.

There are the obvious forms of honesty like not stealing, or telling untruths about others etc... The bottom line, for me, is that part of honesty is doing what I say I will do and not saying I will do something that I may be unable to do. When I cannot fulfill my obligation I try to be honest about the reason and say it promptly.

Another aspect of honesty is to let people know that I care about them and appreciate them. I try to tell people exactly what it is that I appreciate about them. Building up and encouraging others requires honesty. It's also a lot of fun.

Being honest also means that I can admit that I cannot do everything without help. That's the hardest one for me. I was brought up to do things all on my own. It is tough to go against the grain. Asking for help or accepting help from other people is the most honest and one of  the most difficult things I've learned to do.

Honesty also means that I really am what I portray myself to be and I'm not relying on my own reflection in other people's eyes to define myself. I am who I am.  I try to align myself to the will of God.  I don't apologize for that or water it down to suit anyone else.
 
Proverbs 24:26 says: An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.  That's a nice comparison.  I keep working on refining myself in an honest way. No one is perfect, but that doesn't mean I can't try to be better. Oh, and please don't ask me if you look fat in your jeans!