Is honesty the best policy?
Genuine honesty goes beyond human goodness, having its origin and authority in God, in Truth itself. To the practicing Christian, honesty is as important to salvation as are love and compassion.
The study of Christian Science impels one to be more Christlike, more loving, more honest. This divine Science brings to humanity the changeless standard of Truth, emulating Christ Jesus' way of teaching, living, and healing.
In today's freewheeling, sophisticated society, honesty is often considered an old-fashioned ethic, which may at times seem no longer practical and seldom practiced. But public concern about the proliferation of dishonesty is mounting. Shoplifting, income tax evasion, fraudulent claims for social benefits, pilfering of employers' office supplies and shop equipment are mentioned widely in the media. Dishonesty affects government and big business, right down to small businesses and individuals of all ages and classes. Dishonesty even seems to be insidiously deceiving many who regard themselves as upright citizens.
This situation needs our earnest, prayerful consideration. Through scientific prayer, dishonesty can be healed.
God is Truth, self-revealing and self-contained. Synonymous with Love, Truth with its wisdom blesses all who adhere to divine Principle and accept its guidance. Christ, Truth, speaks to individual consciousness in the way each one is receptive to it, comprehends it, and is ready to demonstrate it. This coming of right ideas evidences the dynamic power of the Christ, operating individually and universally to obliterate all that would claim to oppose the goodness and might of Spirit.
Are evading the issue and telling half-truths or so-called white lies in accord with the teachings of Christian Science? One can hardly afford to surrender his integrity and God-given dominion to gain the dubious advantage of approval by those who are motivated by selfishness or fear. Mrs. Eddy counsels: "In our struggles with sin and sinners, when we drop compliance with their desires, insist on what we know is right, and act accordingly, the disguised or the self-satisfied mind, not ready to be uplifted, rebels, misconstrues our best motives, and calls them unkind. But this is the cross. Take it up,—it wins the crown; and in the spirit of our great Exemplar pray: 'Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.'"The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 180 .
Mortal mind's false claim that we're corporeal beings, living in a space-time world with limits on opportunity and capabilities, must be challenged. The belief that we're helpless humans oppressed by fear, or victimized by selfishness, greed, competitiveness, and dishonesty, must be reversed and replaced with the truth. In reality, we're God's immortal ideas, dwelling together in a spiritual universe of harmony, governed by God's law of justice. Ideally, one's ambition is to bring blessing to one's brother and one's world.
Man, God's image, is the individualized expression of Life, Truth, and Love. All the sons and daughters of God reflect every facet of Truth, such as purity, integrity, uprightness. Such qualities constitute the very substance of man's spiritual being. Understanding our completeness as the ideal man, we can be wholly honest, accepting no need to covet or steal what belongs to another.
At times, it might seem tempting to withhold information or refrain from the complete honesty that might carry with it a penalty, such as loss of status or income. Adherence to Principle, however, keeps us straight, obedient to the rules of those institutions and organizations with which we are associated, and this adherence demonstrates our spirituality. Strict honesty under all circumstances ensures one's own peace of mind and nourishes a feeling of strength, security, and well-being. Our conduct, more than our words, expresses our convictions.
The truth of Love and the love of Truth are antidotes for human fear. Honest living based on a sincere desire to do what's right with God is a sure defense against the invasion of dishonesty from without, safeguarding one's person, one's home, and one's business.
Those who believe there is something to be gained by being dishonest are being deluded by a fallacious concept of man. Each one must come to grips with the belief of being a mortal. The fact is that man is wholly spiritual, Godlike. We have a choice.
If our thoughts and actions aren't beneficial to others, they can't possibly benefit us. This is a spiritual law governing all of us, wherever we are, and whatever we may believe about ourselves or others. Jesus told his followers, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." John 13:34 .
It may take a brave struggle, coupled with constant alertness and much scientific prayer, to be always honest. Self-justification and egotism, pride and self-will, are always arguing for themselves, insinuating that wrong is right and that evil is good.
We can hold steadfastly to the spiritual fact that man is upright because God made him so. We can know that because Truth is infinite and all-powerful, dishonesty's spurious claim to power is obsolete. And we can refuse to let dishonesty use us in the slightest degree. Mrs. Eddy declares, "Honesty is spiritual power." Science and Health, p. 453 . In reality, there is no dishonest man; the only true consciousness is Truth, the divine Mind.
Honesty, understood and lived, becomes a powerful force for good in our lives. Practiced in daily living, honesty promotes trust in all our relationships—in the family, the community, the church; in politics and in business; among all peoples and nations. Adhering to the fact of man's innate integrity, we can help shape our world to conform to divine reality.
