“I hope I shall possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” –George Washington, 1st President of the United States

Do you know someone who will tell you the truth, even if you do not want to hear it?

I am not talking about a critic. We have lots of willing individuals in our lives who can pick us apart with glee. They can find a flaw and project it on a jumbotron for all to see. That kind of on-the-spot reporting is not helpful. It teaches us to be more cunning in covering up and building a better façade.

We are called to live honest and open lives.

Most of us are truly shy people. I think it all began with Adam and Eve, trying to hide away their flaws with fig leaves. We still do it. We think we can duck and cover. But God continues to ask, “Where are you?” It is a rhetorical question. He knows right where you are, the state of your heart and thoughts and emotion.

May we come out of hiding and become honest, first with ourselves and with God, and then with one another.

May we do it with the full understanding that we are loved and valued.

Honesty is and always will be the best policy.

May we be avid lovers of the truth. Someone once said, “The truth can hurt, but it always helps.” Let’s speak the truth in love today.

John 8:31-32, The Message (MSG): “Then Jesus turned to the Jews who had claimed to believe in him. "If you stick with this, living out what I tell you, you are my disciples for sure. Then you will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you.”