Lesson 10: Honesty

By the end of this lesson, the student should commit to being completely honest in all situations at all times.

Abraham worked in a store. One day he realized that he had not given a customer the correct change. The woman had already left. She lived several miles out in a rural area, and Abraham knew he would not see her again soon. Even though the amount of money was small, he was concerned that she might need it. He also wanted to make sure she did not think he had purposely kept her money. When the store closed for the day, Abraham walked several miles to return the money. Because of his carefulness in that situation and at other times, his friends called him “Honest Abe.” He later became a lawyer, then got involved in government. His honesty was respected, and he eventually served as President of the United States.

The Bible tells us that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2, Hebrews 6:18). His nature is always consistent and unchanging (James 1:17). God does not tell the truth only when it gives an advantage. He does not lie to get good results. We can have confidence that the Word of God is absolutely true and dependable. His truth gives us security (Psalm 40:11, Psalm 91:4).

► How would your relationship with God be affected if you did not trust him to always tell the truth?

Think about how truth is important to our relationship with God. God calls us to devote ourselves to him completely. We could not do that if we did not trust him completely.

God wants us to always tell the truth. A person who tells lies is not righteous in God’s eyes (Proverbs 12:22).

Sometimes people use lies to win cases in court. People with money can pay a judge to accept lies in order to take property from others (James 2:6). Wealthy people escape justice and condemn innocent people by paying bribes to establish lies (James 5:1, 6).

It is sin to witness falsely, even if you think your cause is right. The Bible condemns false witnesses and does not allow exceptions (Exodus 20:16; Proverbs 6:16-19, Proverbs 14:25, Proverbs 19:5, 9). Many people think they can lie if the lie will accomplish good and not cause harm, but the Bible does not give that option. We are never told in scripture that there are times when we should lie.

Believers should speak truth without exception. Truth is essential to our relationships (Ephesians 4:25).

Ephesians 4:15 says that speaking truth is necessary for growing to spiritual maturity.

Colossians 3:9 says that lying is part of the sinful life that we have put away.

God will judge and condemn liars. Liars are included in a list of terrible sinners condemned by God’s law (1 Timothy 1:10, Revelation 22:15). All liars will be thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8). Liars will not enter God’s city (Revelation 21:27).

► A student should read Proverbs 11:1 for the group.

This verse is talking about scales that are used to sell something by weight, like fruit or vegetables or meat. Sometimes people have scales that are designed to give a false weight in order to take extra money. This verse says that God hates dishonesty.

It is wrong for a person to sell something while lying about its condition or hiding its defects. It is wrong to lie when telling someone how much you paid for something in order to sell it for a higher price.

It is not right for a person to sign his name to something that is not true in order to avoid paying money. It is not right for a person to help his employer deceive people for profit.

► What are various forms of dishonesty you have observed?

The Bible says that wicked people borrow and do not repay (Psalm 37:21, Proverbs 3:28). Some people borrow then feel no obligation to pay their debt. The Bible says we should make sure that we are not failing to give others what we owe them (Romans 13:7-8).

Honesty means that you keep your promises and commitments. Psalm 15 describes the person who is in a good relationship with God. One characteristic of this type of person is that he keeps his promises even if it is costly to him (Psalm 15:4).

It is dishonest when a person does not work as he should for a person who has hired him (Ephesians 6:5-6).

It is wrong for a worker to steal things from his employer (Titus 2:9-10).

It is wrong to give false receipts to say that something cost more than it really did. It is wrong for an employee or agent to lie about the price of something so that he can keep some of the money.

It is wrong for an employer to withhold promised wages from workers (James 5:4).

It is wrong to keep something that someone else has accidentally misplaced. You should return it to its owner if you can (Deuteronomy 22:1).

If you are managing the resources of someone else (like an employer or a ministry), it is wrong to use money or things for yourself if you have not been given permission.

In some communities people live under the care of a chief. The people are loyal to the chief, and the chief is expected to help them with every need. In these communities most people do not have much personal property. The most important resources, such as land, belong to the community. Leaders are supposed to manage the resources for the benefit of everyone. When a person has a need, he feels that he has a right to take what he needs from the resources of the community.

Gideon was born in a jungle village. His family and the families around them raised food on the land that belonged to the village. They found resources in the jungle. None of them owned personal land, even where their houses stood. Families helped each other when they had problems. The chief was like a father to the village. The people expected him to care about their needs.

When Gideon became a young man he found employment with a company that was cutting logs for lumber. He left the village to live near the work area. He was paid a salary each month. Sometimes he did not have enough food because he was not accustomed to budgeting a salary. He expected the boss to provide food for him, and was surprised when the boss said that it was Gideon’s responsibility to buy everything with his salary. When Gideon’s sister needed a doctor, Gideon asked the boss for money for her. Gideon was angry when the boss did not help. Gideon thought the boss was supposed to help him with his problems, but the boss said that the salary was his only responsibility for Gideon. When Gideon left the job, he stole some of the tools to take to the village, because he felt that the boss had not helped him enough.

Gideon later moved to the city with his wife and child and found a job in a large grocery store. Gideon asked his boss to pay for his child’s school fees, but the boss did not. Sometimes Gideon did not have enough money to buy everything his family needed. Because he worked in a store that sold food, he thought he should be allowed to take food from the store to his family. He knew that the boss would not agree, so he took food secretly.

Some workers do not understand the limits of the employer’s commitment. They think the employer is responsible for all of their needs. They ask him for many forms of help besides the wages for their work. If he does not give them what they need, they feel justified in stealing, because they feel that he owes them the things they need.

► A student should read Titus 2:9-14 for the group.

These verses tell us that a worker must not steal from his employer. Verse 10 says that honesty makes the doctrines of Christ beautiful. The next few verses describe the life that a person lives if he is transformed by grace.

Honesty is not just about money and possessions.

Caleb promised his coworker that he would meet with him at 8:00 in the morning. However, he slept late and took time to eat breakfast and was more than an hour late. He told his coworker that the driver came late to get him. The coworker was not surprised. All of Caleb’s friends know that he never keeps his commitments.

Caleb was dishonest two ways:

1. He did not keep his promise.

2. He lied about the reason he was late.

Can people believe you when you say you will do a job or be at a place? Do you believe yourself when you say it? When you promise something, you are also promising to make the effort necessary to fulfill it. It is wrong to promise something then make no effort to keep your promise.

If you fail to keep a promise, you should apologize. You should not lie about the reason that you failed.

It is wrong to blame others in your organization for your mistakes. Your team will not trust you if they know you will lie about mistakes.

A trustworthy leader does not get people to follow his idea by telling them things that are not true. Stephen Covey wrote that “Leadership is getting results in a way that inspires trust”.[1]

Many people believe it is wrong to lie to friends or relatives but okay to lie to other categories of people. Some people steal money or materials from their employers because they think they deserve to be paid more. Some people steal from wealthy people, especially wealthy foreigners. Some people make unfair transactions with people from a different ethnic group or social class.

Jesus said we should love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31). Remember the question a lawyer asked Jesus? “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29). The lawyer wanted Jesus to specify the category of people that we must love, so Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37). The story is about two people of different ethnicities who met for the first time. They had no previous relationship, and there was conflict between their ethnic groups. The Samaritan helped the needy man, even though he was not obligated by any relationship. One of the points Jesus made with this story is that no person should be excluded from our love.

We are not supposed to decide who deserves our honesty. We are not supposed to be honest only with selected people. Even if we think a person would not be harmed by our dishonesty, we want to please God by being honest (Acts 24:16, see also Philippians 1:10, 2 Corinthians 5:9).

What kind of person do you want to be? What kind of person does God want you to be?

Someone may not deserve your courtesy, but God wants you to be a courteous person. Someone may not deserve your honesty, but God wants you to be an honest person. Someone may not deserve your love, but God loved you when you didn’t deserve it, and God wants you to be a loving person.

► Students should read 1 Peter 2:21-23 and 1 Peter 3:8-12 for the group.

Don’t let the character of others determine your character. A person may lie to you, but you should not become a liar. A person may steal from you, but you should not become a thief. A person may be rude to you, but you should be a person of respect.

The illustrations in this section are all real cases, but names and details have been changed. They are examples of stealing or lying or both.

Note to class leader: Make sure students understand what happened in each illustration. Ask students to explain why the action in the illustration is wrong.

1. Jacob worked in a factory. He often took home cleaning supplies, tools, and small items because he knew the factory could replace them.

2. Peter was a truck driver for a large company. Sometimes when he was driving the company truck he would see a sign beside the road that said “We buy diesel.” He sometimes stopped and sold them a small amount of diesel fuel from the truck, knowing that the company would not know that a small amount was taken.

3. Esther was trusted to buy computer equipment for the office where she worked. She bribed the salesman at the store to write receipts showing higher purchase prices so she could keep some of the money.

4. In a park in a large city is a man selling burnt-out light bulbs. The people who buy them know that they do not work. They buy them to take to their offices where they will steal good bulbs, replacing them with old ones.

5. Amos was a school principal. One day the father of a student came to him and demanded that his son get a good grade in algebra. He gave Amos money. Amos ordered the algebra teacher to give the student a good grade.

6. Andrew was a university professor. His salary was small. He told his class that the test would be very difficult and that no student would do well on the test without buying from him a page with the answers.

7. Aaron was the principal of a government school. One day Philip, a friend who worked for a mission organization, asked if the mission could rent some rooms in the school building. Aaron gave a price, and Philip brought the money for Aaron each month. Aaron kept the money and never reported the income.

8. Philip worked for a mission that needed to rent some space for classrooms. Philip went to his friend Aaron, a principal of a school. They agreed on a price for rent, then Philip told the mission a higher amount. Each month Philip delivered the money to Aaron but kept the extra amount.

9. Seth worked for a ministry that needed a new building. The ministry told Seth to find a construction company to build for them. Seth talked to several construction companies. Instead of choosing the company that would give the best price, he chose one that promised to give him some of the money they got from the ministry.

10. Benjamin needed to license his car, but he knew it would not pass inspection because some of the lights didn’t work. He took his car to the licensing department and saw a long line of people waiting to get their cars inspected and licensed. A man near the gate told him that for a price he could get the license for him quickly with no inspection. Benjamin paid the price and was soon on his way home with the license.

11. Simon came to take his car from the parking place. The parking attendant told him the price for parking. Simon gave the attendant less but allowed him to keep the parking ticket to give another customer so the attendant could keep the money Simon paid.

12. Anna did not study enough for the test. When she came to class she sat near a friend who was a good student so she could copy answers from her friend’s test.

13. Isaiah drove a tractor pulling a plow for a large government farm. He wanted to finish early. He lifted the plow so that it would not dig deeply, letting him drive the tractor faster. The field appeared to be ready, but did not grow a good crop because it was not plowed properly.

14. Pastor Michael was sent by a mission to pastor a church. The mission sent him a monthly salary. Because Pastor Michael wanted the church to pay him also, he told the people of his church that the mission did not support him.

15. A thief came into Elizabeth’s house and stole money. When she told her friends about it, she said the thief took other things also even though he hadn’t. Her friends sympathized and gave her money to replace the things they thought were stolen.

16. Jason was the chief of a small village. He was also a leader in the village church. His people were primitive, uneducated, and poor, but the village owned much land. Businessmen from the city asked to buy land for farming projects. Jason sold all of the village land and used the money to build a house for himself in the city.

17. Each year the Fairfield Community Church selects a mother to honor as “Mother of the Year.” They selected Rachel, not because she was a good example of a mother, but because they knew she would make a donation to the church. After they honored her, Rachel donated money for the church to buy new gates for the property. The next year, the church decided to select Rachel as “Mother of the Year” again, even though she had moved to another city.

18. Bartholomew was a driver for a ministry. Every evening he took the ministry car to park in a secure place. Sometimes before parking the car he used it to carry passengers or cargo for his own customers.

This story is fictional but describes what has happened in many places.

Believers in the city of Borol found out that there was a large community of people in the next county who were living in poverty. The people of that county were of an ethnic group called Ibanese. For generations the Ibanese people had lived in primitive homes without access to much medical care or education. Many did not have enough food, and some were starving.

The Borol believers started giving money to help the Ibanese. They sent representatives to churches in other counties to ask for contributions.

The believers in Borol began sending truckloads of food to the Ibanese. They depended on Ibanese church leaders to distribute the food.

The Ibanese leaders set up markets to sell the food to their people. Only the people with money could buy it, so none of it reached the people who were starving. The church leaders and their friends kept the profit. Some of the food was sent to be sold in another county where people could pay more.

The Borol believers insisted that the food should be given freely to the people who needed it most. The Ibanese church leaders developed a budget for the distribution that included renting trucks with drivers and paying people to help. They set the prices higher than the normal prices and kept the extra money. When the Borol believers required reports of the spending, the Ibanese wrote false reports.

Every time the Borol believers discovered dishonest actions, they were frustrated and discouraged. They tried to find other Ibanese leaders to help them but had the same problems. Many Borol believers stopped giving. Some continued to give. A few Ibanese pastors soon had cars and good houses because of the Borol support. Other pastors envied them and wished for connections with Borol givers. Most of the starving people in remote areas never received help.

Warren Buffet was CEO of a company called Berkshire Hathaway. He wanted to buy a company called McLane Distribution that was owned by Walmart. The purchase was worth 23 billion dollars. Normally this purchase would require months of inspections so that the buyer could check everything. Buffet met with the leaders of Walmart and made an agreement in one meeting. He did not send anyone to make sure the properties and other assets were okay. He said later, “We knew that everything would be exactly as Walmart said it would be, and it was.” This enormous deal was finished quickly because the leaders trusted each other.[1]

Now think about the people described in the previous illustrations. None of them would be able to make an agreement like this, because they are not trustworthy. Everything would have to be inspected, which would require much time and expense.

► What are some dishonest practices that are hard for people to avoid in your culture?

► What is a practice that you need to change?

Heavenly Father,

We praise you for being a God of righteousness and truth. We thank you for always being truthful in your dealings with us.

Help us to follow the standard of honesty you have for us. Help us to apply the principles of honesty to everything we say and do.

Thank you for being our Father who provides and guides us. We want to trust you to take care of us.

Amen

(1) Write a paragraph about each of the following:

• Explain the relationship between God’s character (truth) and God’s standard for us (honesty). Explain why God requires us to be honest in what we say and in all of our dealings.

• Summarize what the Bible says about honesty. Use at least three scriptures in your summary.

• Explain at least four ways dishonesty/honesty affects our relationships with others.

(2) Prepare a biblical presentation about honesty that you could share with a group of people in your culture. Give a biblical basis for God’s standard, then apply it to specific situations.