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Honesty is Such a Lonely Word
By Marc | April 8, 2008
I must admit to you, I have been guilty of telling a fib or five in my life. I am not proud of it. With age and maturity, I have found I don’t think I do anything that I would need to lie about, and I have nothing to lose by telling the truth. In fact I have much to gain.
In any relationship (marriage, business, friendships, etc.), honesty is one of the most important traits to have. With honesty, you might not always get admiration, but you do get respect for your truthfulness and a clearer conscience.
When I first meet a person, I have no need to question their integrity, and they have no need to question mine. Their word, unless utterly preposterous or overly bragging, is held as truth until proven otherwise. But when one lie, no matter how small, enters the field, every single thing that person has said or will say is under constant scrutiny. Trust is just one of those things that is so valuable that is darn near impossible to completely fix once it’s broken.
There are a few people in our lives, close to us, who are (to my knowledge) lying to us and everyone else. I hear gossip, but I also have overwhelming facts in the circumstances that lead to questions. These people also regularly instruct people on how to live a Godly life. Every time we see them it hurts more and more.
But, confronting these people may end my family’s relationship with them and others as well. We love and will always pray for them, but my confidence in them has been severely shaken.
Here is my question for you: Do I confront those who I feel have slighted me (and everyone around them), knowing full well that I could possibly meet with broken friendships and another lie? Also, please help me to deal with the anger and hurt I feel. I didn’t get very much sleep last night thinking about this.
I apologize for being vague, but this isn’t the place to spread more gossip.
To all reading this, your trust is important to me. If I have intentionally lied to you, I have probably forgotten it. Confront me and I will be as honest with as much as I can remember. And please forgive me.
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts. - Proverbs 18:8
Forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors. - Matthew 6:13.
Topics: Faith, Life and Living, Pray for |
