THE WEIGHT OF HONESTY

February 22

THE WEIGHT OF HONESTY

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

Ephesians 4:25

Run to my arms; glad am I, George, that you killed my tree; for you have paid me for it a thousand fold. Such an act of heroism in my son is more worth than a thousand trees, though blossomed with silver, and their fruits of purest gold.*

So goes the account according to Parson Weems of the reaction of George Washington’s father on hearing from his son the truth that he did kill the cherry tree with his hatchet. Although the story is well-known, its validity is highly questionable. Yet we would all like to believe that the first president of the United States of America was an honest and truthful man.

Honesty is one of those virtues that is highly esteemed by many but just doesn’t seem to work in the day-to-day practices of life. We tend to hold on to it for as long as it is light enough to carry and then drop it as soon as its weight becomes too heavy to bear.

One of the marks of Christ’s followers, however, ought to be their honesty, which means both the presence of truth and the absence of deception. It means that others see us for who we really are. It means living our lives in the light, out in the open. How difficult this is for us guys! May God help us to walk today beneath the weight of honesty. ♦

PRAYER

Reveal to me, Spirit, anything false in my life …

*This quote can be found at http://xroads.virginia.edu/