Honesty: Let's be Real

So I’ve been known as the one who is pretty honest, brutally honest at times. However, if you knew how often I held back the truth, would you be shocked? Sure, I can tell people I haven’t known very long exactly what I think without caring what they think. However, when it comes down to the people I care the most about, there is a part of me that cannot tell the complete truth when I’m caught (or about to be caught) in something. I have this nagging fear in the back of my mind that if they see the real me, they’ll run and hide, taking/withholding all of their love with them. The enemy repeatedly tells me this lie.

This school year I’ve devoted myself to telling the complete truth. Of course, there are times when one has to discern the right timing for honesty. You can’t tell someone everything that comes to your mind just because you think it. Some things hurt people and wound them forever. I’ve always admired people who were completely honest with me. Consequently, I decided to do the same. I thought I was doing the same. Then I was presented an opportunity with my parents to tell the whole truth about something….and I didn’t. Why? Because that same fear came stomping through my mind, saying, “Don’t tell! They won’t love you anymore. You’re not good enough for them. Just cover up your actions and ‘forget’ to mention a few details.” Little did I know how the Lord would convict me and how deep the hole of lies I was digging. Telling a half truth is still a lie. Refusing to mention a detail is a lie.

Now that I have confessed the whole story, I feel like a burden has been lifted from my back. I know that my parents won’t reject me. They love me. Sure, they’ll be disappointed in me, but the relief that comes from telling the whole truth is something I wish on everyone. The guilt that comes with telling a lie and the fear that you’re going to get caught any moment looms over you. The punishment is usually much less severe when you choose to tell the truth than when you’re caught in a lie.

I encourage and challenge y’all to tell the whole truth. Don’t be afraid of what people will think of you. God’s reward is much greater than anything we can receive on earth. He is our Judge. Next time you decide to choose “not to mention” something or you choose to lie, remember the consequences and what God thinks of it. He has high standards. Those standards aren’t just for middle-aged people; they’re for everyone. He has one set standard. We have to strive to live according to it.