Albert Einstein said, “Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.”

With five of us kids, my parents believed that truth was paramount in the raising of children. For example, when an object was broken or missing, my parents would ask, “Who broke it?” or “Who had it last?” And they always prefaced their investigative questions with these words, “You better tell me the truth.” Punishment was sure to come to whoever did the deed; however, if you were caught lying about it, you were sure to get a greater punishment than if you had been truthful.

My parents taught us that lying was a terrible thing and to always be truthful when questioned about a matter whether it was at home or away. They also instructed us about honesty and said that being up front with the truth mattered and could be rewarded. Honesty shows integrity in a person’s character. An honest person refuses to lie, steal, or deceive in any way. It is the fabric of one’s moral character and denotes positive and virtuous attributes.

Often our pastor stressed the biblical principle of “training up a child in the way they should go and the child would not depart from these ways.” I must admit though as an adult there were times that I departed from these teachings; however, guilt weighed so heavily on my conscience it caused me to reevaluate my motive and to make amends. Without proper training of our children, lying can become a common practice without consideration of the consequences.

Truthfulness must be the moral fabric of all humanity. In any organization, relationship, or society that subscribes to moral values, their environment will have fostered truthfulness and good conduct and will not have condoned cheating and lying. Honesty involves being trustworthy, loyal, fair, and sincere. It is the sacred marriage vowels promised by two people who are joining in holy matrimony.

When you are truthful about a matter, it is easy to remember and repeat the details. However, lies are hard to remember and almost impossible to repeat the same way every time they are told. There is a biblical expression that says, “truth will set you free.” Think about it – a lie can place shackles on a person’s mind, generating falsehoods until the truth is released.

There are too many untruths told in our society today, many which are too often promoted by well-known people. Truthfulness matters in personal relationships, business dealings, scientific research and all areas of life, and being truthful is a matter of character. Never Give Up! Never Give Up! Never Give Up!

By Chaplain Ghosten

chaplain@lhp.net

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