Honesty Toward God

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

The word(s) "honest/y" appears in my favorite translation of the Bible far fewer times than I would have expected. The sole New Testament use was in the parable of the sower, when Jesus characterizes the "good soil" as those who hear the word in an “honest and good heart,” hold it fast, and bear fruit “with perseverance” (Luke 8:15).

But it’s probably not scripture-twisting to think of honesty as part of…or even roughly equivalent to…”integrity.”   "Honest" may even be the general attitude and practice that scripture means by “righteousness.”

I have to think too of “honesty” as a response to Truth; which makes it specifically an orientation toward Christ. That “lies” are the contrary spirit and the contrary response seems to bear that out.
In Jesus’ parable, an “honest and good heart” is the only soil in which God’s word takes root and grows. I understand our interpretations of what God “speaks”…Truth/Jesus, scripture, reality…to be some of the “fruits” that grow from our heart-orientation: and honest and good interpretations only  from an “honest and good heart.”

Certainly LACK of honesty seems the common characteristic of those who “cherry-pick” facts, or try to live in an echo-chamber of their own making, or block dissenting comments from their blogs. In all those instances, the individual's purpose is clearly to “validate” his own alternative "reality" against the reality God perfectly (in Hebrew, "completely") speaks.

I have to think those who choose to interpret the facts of reality dishonestly ultimately seek to deny God’s sovereignty: and in dishonest hubris, substitute their own.

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

God Loves the Honest

"...[we] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." (II Corinthians 4:2, KJV)

A forwarded meditation by David Wilkerson was in my e-mail today, on the above scripture. I was struck by the word "dishonesty," which I don't remember having seen in scripture previously. So I had to look it up, and check it out.

Part of the reason I'd never seen "dishonesty" before was because my favored New American Standard translation always translates the Greek word in this passage (aischune) as "shame." I rarely consult the King James' translation: but looking at the lexicons and other references, and the context, I can credit the KJV's alternative reading here of "dishonesty."

More than a particular word, however, this verse resonated for me with Jesus' characterization of Nathanael as a man "in whom there is no guile." The straightforward character this verse commends seems to be what Jesus perceived in Nathanael: a man in whom there was no hidden agenda, no craftiness, no deceitfulness: one whose straightforward truthfulness commended him to every man, and to Jesus Himself.