IS HONESTY THE BEST POLICY?

Many are told the practice of honesty is the best thing, but for very good reasons a lot of people have a hard time believing that to be true. Let me explain.I went to a small, conservative faith based university. Needless to say there were a lot of rules, and each rule was accompanied by a penalty if one decided to break it. One night a few guys decided to break a particular rule that addressed drinking alcohol.They went out had a couple of beers, some people who were not there found out and the rumor mill churned out lies about them with alarming speed. The false rumors spread, until at last two of those who were out drinking decided it was time to come clean.They admitted to one of the deans of the college what they had done. They told him they had lacked integrity since they had signed a piece of paper agreeing to abide by the rules of the school. The dean’s response was swift. He told them they were immediately expelled.Then the rumors really started flying. These two guys became the object of scorn in the eyes of many. A few professors at the school took it upon themselves to make unkind statements about these guys, and several students saw it as a chance to condemn them as well.What happened after was amazing.Student after student decided it was time to open up about their problems, and admit to the rules they had broken. One might say a revival broke out … okay, that is not honest. In fact, it was just the opposite. What many learned through this was that being honest and admitting to messing up immediately preceded getting beat up by judgment.So people kept their mouths shut for fear of what might happen to them. In my experience I have seen this time and time again. The heartbreaking thing is that it often happens among Christians. Which is a bit of a mystery to me.Central to the Christian faith is the belief that all people are dead in sin and in need of salvation. Which means, if you say you are a Christian you are admitting that you’ve messed up. But somehow many have gotten to the place where being a Christian means you are supposed to have all your stuff together. And if you admit you don’t; well then comes the fire and brimstone.I understand that wrong choices have natural consequences. When it comes to admitting what we’ve done some will be hurt, some may feel betrayed and relationships can be broken. But that is different from the vindictive, punitive attitude that often comes after one admits to doing something wrong.The more we judge, look down upon and condemn others when they have the guts to be honest, the less honesty we will see. What our actions will clearly teach them is that honesty is not always the best policy.Any time one confesses it should only be met with love, grace, mercy, compassion and a commitment to walk with them through whatever restoration is needed. As the people of God we must remember that we are recipients of grace, and what has been done for us must be done by us. But there’s one thing about grace that is so difficult. It demands we be honest.It’s only when we admit that we are a mess that we open ourselves up to the beautiful power of grace. It seems, after all, honesty is indeed the best policy. Let's show everyone how true that really is.