HONEST TO GOD

HONEST TO GOD

When I was an executive assistant many years ago, my boss gave me a letter to type to a client and sign. It wasn’t an unusual request, but this time I was faced with a dilemma. He lied in the letter. I didn’t want to lose my job by confronting him, but in my heart, I knew I didn’t want to sign my name to a lie. After debating with myself, I decided I’d rather say no to my boss and yes to God. As it turned out, I kept my job, even though my boss didn’t like me much after that.

 

That incident was a long time ago, but today there are many more opportunities to be dishonest: get a handicap card for our cars when we’re not handicapped, not go back and pay for the extra item that showed up in our shopping cart, tell someone we’re going to do something, but then don’t do it and hope everyone just ignores it, buying way more than we really have the money for, and so many other things. These things may seem silly, or small infractions, but we must accept that like a small fracture line in a baseball bat can end up splitting the bat in two, the principle applies to our lives as well.

 

We get very good at coming up with rationalizations as to why we “need” to be just a little less honest than the Word of God would have us be. Saul had that same problem. The Amalekites were constantly a threat to the Israelites. They were sneaky and when they attacked, it was usually not a full-on battle, but always the small attacks from the side, attacks that would not seem too horrendous, but nevertheless, people always got killed. So in God’s foresight He already knew the Amalekites would never stop their will to kill His people.

So So at the right time, God told Saul, through the prophet Samuel, to go up against the Amalekites and kill them all, their men, women, children and their livestock too.

 

Saul didn’t feel he needed to completely wipe them out. He decided to go by his own way of interpreting God’s will, rather than be honest and do God’s will to the full extent.

 

“But Saul and the people spared Agag [king of the Amalekites], and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly” (1 Sam. 15:9).

 

“Then came the word of the Lord unto Samuel, saying, ‘It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments’” (v. 10).

 

“And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, ‘Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord.’ And Samuel said, ‘What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?’” (vv.13-14). 

 

^“And Saul said, ‘They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed’” (v.15).

Here Saul is totally telling a big fat lie, making up the excuses as to why he didn’t do what God told him to do. First, he tried to blame it on someone else—the people made me do it. He must have realized that was not going to go over well, so he came up with another bigger lie. He tried to convince Samuel that he really did it for God! Now that’s a good one!

 

Did he really think God was so stupid as to believe what he said his motive was?

 

“Then Samuel said unto Saul, ‘Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night.’ And he said unto him, ‘Say on’ (v. 16). And Samuel said, ‘When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel? And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord?’” (vv.17-19).

 

“And Saul said unto Samuel, ‘Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal’ (vv. 20-21).

 

“And Samuel said, ‘Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king’” (vv. 22-23).

 

We’ve all heard the phrase: “The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.” But most of the time it’s used out of context. In this case it is used in the correct way. God had given Saul the honor of being chosen to be king. But Saul’s disobedience got him booted out, and soon after that incident, Saul died. In this world, there are always going to be consequences to sins against God. As we, the body of Christ, are told in 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I believe that our sincere repentance softens the blow of those consequences. I know that for some of the sins I’ve committed, the consequences could have certainly been way more severe than they were, due to the mercy and loving kindness of our God!

 

Though Satan’s temptation to be dishonest never seems to go away, we do have the ability through Christ, to repent and change, thank God! “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13). God wouldn’t tell us to be honest unless He already knew He’d given us the inner strength to do it. And as an extra bonus, He rewards us for having the faith to just “man up” and carry it out, in spite of our fears or rebellion.

 

“But without faith, it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6).

 

Of course, sometimes people are ignorant of their deception. We tend to follow the crowd. And what we see other people do, we do it too. But we should always be taking our actions to God, not to what others get away with.

 

David was able to say: “Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity: I have trusted also in the Lord; therefore I shall not slide” (Psalm 26:1). In other words, when we don’t walk in integrity, we will slide! Who wants to slide away from God, for a few meager rewards from the worldly realm? Not me!

 

Proverbs 19:1 says: “Better is the poor that is walking in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool. The word, “perverse” means “twisted, distorted and crooked.” In other words, an honest poor man with God is better than a rich fool without Him.

 

What about our children? “The just man is walking in his integrity: his children are blessed after him” (Prov. 20:7). What are we teaching our children, if they see by our actions that we lack integrity and we’re not honest people?

 

And what about our businesses? What kind of people do we want working for us? Unfortunately, if people are dishonest in one category, they are most likely dishonest in more. Acts 6:3 is an excellent verse for doing a job search: “Wherefore, brethren, look you out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.”

 

And finally, the Apostle Paul exhorts us: “Brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” And do them.

 

I pray that the rest of this year 2024, we live honesty, in integrity and truth.

 

Love, Carolyn