For a long time, I considered honesty to be simply not telling a lie. But I’ve since realized that the definition of honesty goes far deeper than that. I see now that it also means not accepting a lie.

Christian Science teaches that healing comes when one understands the truth about any situation. Mary Baker Eddy writes, “We must recollect that Truth is demonstrable when understood, and that good is not understood until demonstrated” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 323). In other words, truly being honest means gaining a spiritual sense of truth in order to better understand Truth.

It’s a fact that man was and is made only in God’s image and likeness (see Genesis 1:26, 27)—the likeness of good, health, and holiness. And not only that—we are conscious of what God is constantly knowing us to be. It’s part of our identity to recognize the way God sees us. Therefore, the truthful or honest view of man is God’s view.

Mary Baker Eddy writes, “Jesus beheld in Science the perfect man, who appeared to him where sinning mortal man appears to mortals. In this perfect man the Saviour saw God’s own likeness, and this correct view of man healed the sick” (Science and Health, pp. 476–477). This is a much more profound concept of honesty than I had previously thought. Being honest about what I am thinking is important, but to be profoundly honest, I must see the perfect man, God’s own likeness. It may seem a difficult task. But it’s part of our identity to be conscious of God’s view of us, the correct view of man. That gives us hope.

With this new and profound concept of honesty, one can easily see why we shouldn’t criticize or condemn others or ourselves. If we are to be honest, we must be faithful to the correct, truthful view of man. But, does this mean we should never “tell a man his faults?” What about the Matthew code (see Matthew 18:15–17)? How do we judge righteously and honestly when we see an obvious or even willful sin being committed by someone? Our job may certainly include going to that person and telling him of the perceived fault (as lovingly as we can, of course). We might need to speak straightforwardly to someone who may not even realize their actions are out of line, a task that Eddy says “requires the spirit of our blessed Master” (Science and Health, p. 571). But the highest, most loving, most honest, and most healing approach has to start with our own thinking.

One of the greatest explanations of this issue is the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus tells us, “First cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5). He doesn’t say to ignore the mote in our brother’s eye—but he does tell us that we must “see clearly” before we call attention to it. Wouldn’t this clear seeing be the honest view of man? Wouldn’t it be the “correct view” of man that heals the sick?

Remember, whenever we see someone err—even though it is “not our fault”—we have a responsibility to correct our own thinking. Mary Baker Eddy writes, “It is no more Christianly scientific to see disease than it is to experience it” (Science and Health, p. 421), and the same principle surely applies to sin. We have a duty to correct our thought, and to take the next, deeper step of honesty by seeing clearly—beholding the perfect man. With this deeper, honest view we are empowered to take actions that bless—even on issues that appear to be out of our hands.

One challenge can be when we see someone struggling with a problem or with past mistakes. Don’t we sometimes catch ourselves thinking (when reading an inspiring statement): “This would be good for them to know,” or “I wish they would read this.” Not to worry! We can know it for others and ourselves. Eddy writes, “When we fully understand our relation to the Divine, we can have no other Mind but His,—no other Love, wisdom, or Truth, no other sense of Life, and no consciousness of the existence of matter or error” (Science and Health, pp. 205–206). We can also know that being conscious of how God sees us is a natural part of everyone’s identity. We are not helpless bystanders. We can take an honest view, God’s view, of the situation, and we can expect it to have a healing effect.

Probably the most challenging situation is when we ourselves have been wronged. It may have been an obvious and willful wrong—betrayal, slander, theft, or deceit. We may feel we have a right to be upset, and we may have a right to restitution. No reasonable person could argue that the errant one doesn’t deserve to be held accountable. Yet, our honest view about this situation is the most important thing with regard to ultimate healing.

On the flip side, what if we are the ones who have done the wrong, and are harboring a prolonged sense of guilt and self-condemnation? Have we repented and reformed, or are we still lingering through that process? Perhaps gaining a more honest view of ourselves consists of taking the next step beyond awareness of the error. Eddy writes that “… mental self-knowledge … is indispensable to the excision of error.” She also writes, “To prove scientifically the error or unreality of sin, you must first see the claim of sin, and then destroy it” (Science and Health, pp. 462, 461). This self-knowledge is more than just being aware of the sin that was committed. Human sense claims that we have our own mind that is separate from God, having its own ego and its own will. Yet the truth is only what God sees about us, His image. God is our Mind, our Life, and our Soul. It is part of our identity to be conscious of what He is seeing: each of us as His sinless reflection.

We can take an honest view, God’s view, of the situation, and we can expect it to have a healing effect.

Years ago, when I was a military officer, I had a physical challenge that lingered for a long time. I prayed with the support of several Christian Science practitioners at different times during that period. During the same time, I had been searching my thought about how I judged others, and realized I had been harboring ill feelings about a soldier who worked under my supervision. He was doing very poorly in his job and was having a noticeable problem with telling lies.

As I prayed, I realized that no matter how awful the picture, I had to change my view about him. I worked diligently at it. I knew that the picture I was seeing was not God’s view of His creation; therefore, I had to turn it loose. No matter how convincing the evidence, scientifically it could not be true. Gradually, the physical issue I’d been experiencing began to abate and a deeper sense of God’s merciful lovingkindness began to take hold.

Not too long after, the soldier came to me in confidence and said he was about to be kicked out of the military. This was on a Friday, with the pending military action scheduled for the following Monday. Although I was not surprised by the news, I was surprised that he would confide in me about something that he normally would have tried to cover up. This soldier then asked for my advice, which he had never done before.

Eddy writes, “Of a man it has been said, ‘As he thinketh in his heart, so is he;’ hence as a man spiritually understandeth, so is he in truth” (Science and Health, p. 213). I told the soldier that people only see in him what he sees himself to be. No amount of deception or lies can cover that up. If you want to change what others see about you, you have to change your thought about yourself.

I suggested that when the sergeant told him to report for formation at such-and-such a time, that he report ten minutes earlier. Or, that if the sergeant told him to sweep the floor, that he also do extra, like wiping off cobwebs—not to impress the sergeant, but to set a standard for himself. By setting and meeting a higher standard, he would have a higher sense of himself and, thus, so would others. This advice was not about building up his self-esteem; it was about taking an unselfish step Godward with the desire to do what is right and good. The unselfish desire to live up to our highest sense of right, wherever we are, leads us to a more honest view of ourselves—God’s view. He took the advice to heart.

Over that weekend, through some unusual circumstances, the commander of the soldier’s unit was relieved of duty and a new commander was installed. When the soldier reported to the commander’s office on Monday to be terminated from military service, the new commander decided to give him one last chance. From that moment forward his improvement was steady. He re-earned the rank that he had lost. He did much better at work, improving his behavior and performance. Then he started competing for soldier performance awards, eventually winning recognition as soldier of the quarter and then soldier of the year. He continued to make rank as a sergeant and gained additional recognition.

Eddy writes, “We should examine ourselves and learn what is the affection and purpose of the heart, for in this way only can we learn what we honestly are” (Science and Health, p. 8). When we examine ourselves (and others), let us find that we are honorable and precious in God’s sight. That is who we honestly are. And this correct view heals and uplifts.