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
