Honesty



Proverbs Study Group

Reverence.  Relationship.  Results!

Hallerin Hilton Hill

Chapter 21

Honesty

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Wisdom:  highly developed skill and insight applied at the right time to produce the right results for all the right reasons.

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Wisdom:  trusting God enough to believe him more than you believe yourself.  Trusting God enough to act on his word.

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Wisdom:  knowing God, surrendering to God.

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Honest: adj. free of deceit and untruthfulness; sincere…morally correct or virtuous.

“Those who are not honest with themselves are like thieves whose lives are blighted by fear.”  Proverbs 21:7

“It is easy to rationalize your actions; look for the truth buried beneath your excuses.”  Proverbs 21:2

“Like a farmer irrigating his fields, let truth direct the desires of your heart.”
Proverbs 21:1

Be Honest With Yourself

If you’re not honest with yourself, you’re not honest.

Honesty isn’t merely an “outward” commitment.  Honesty is first an inward commitment.

Being honest with yourself is not just about admitting how you really feel and how your really are.  Proverbs doesn’t just call on you to tell your “truth”.  You have to tell your “truth” in relation to and with respect to THE truth.

What is the impact of not being honest with yourself?

You live in fear.  Thieves are typically paranoid.  They live in fear of being found out.

When you are less than true to yourself…when you lie to yourself when you rationalize so that you can do things that are diametrically opposed to God’s will, you live with the fear of being found out.

Rational Lies

We do a sales job on ourselves when we want to do something that if we really looked deeply into our true intent we put together these wonderfully rational arguments.  We get eloquent about what we want to do, why we want to do it, and why we deserve to do it.

The trouble is we know we’re lying.

Why do we lie to ourselves?

Have you ever rationalized your wrong?

Truth As An Engine Not An Option

Being honest with yourself only has a payoff when you that honesty leads you to a desire to know and implement truth.

Truth should be the motor of your car not the cup holder.  Truth isn’t just nice it’s necessary.  We have to let truth direct our desires.

Do you know what THE truth is?

Have you spent enough time searching for and installing the truth you should be living by?

Conclusion

You must be honest with yourself.  You must stop rationalizing wrong.  You must learn truth and then let truth direct your desires.