Honesty

Honesty is the best policy. Best policy for whom? Those who get taken or those who do the taking?

Nowadays is anyone really honest? For instance, in buying gas for the car, perhaps you need to keep an eye on the pump figures to see that you actually receive what you pay for. Perhaps if you don't do this, you think maybe you haven't received a full amount.

In the grocery store, the clerk grabs your sack of vegetables and hastily weighs it up. Maybe you have no opportunity of seeing the scale yourself and you might wonder - did he charge me for the weight I got or did he increase the price a penny or two?

A boy comes to cut the lawn and charges for a complete job. The next day you might happen to see that he forgot some. Even the shoe repair man might charge for the best leather sole and puts on a cheaper grade.

The customer notices and remembers some of these things. Some he is able to see, some he is not. What he doesn't know won't hurt him, some merchants figure, but there are at least two who always know - God and the man who tries to be dishonest. The man knows and he remembers too; sometimes even for years. He remembers if he has a conscience and the majority of us do, even if we don't like to admit it.

Honesty is the best policy for everyone. It is better to be honest, even if no one but ourselves know it. It is a good way to stay feeling clean. A good way to be able to look other people straight in the eye and think, 'I have nothing to conceal. My conscience does not bother me. I am at peace inside myself.' A good way to know that I am not going against God's will for me.