The Daily Grace - Honestly

Today is National Honesty Day in the United States. It is a little-known designation for April 30, but an important one nonetheless. Author M. Hirsh Goldberg established National Honesty Day in the early 1990s as a way to honor the honorable and encourage honesty. He said that April 30 was selected because "April begins with a day dedicated to lying [April Fool's Day] and should end on a higher moral note".

Honesty Day would be a good time to review the value of this trait according to God's Word. Honesty is not as easy at it seems - but we please God by striving for it. An understanding of honesty begins with recognizing that God - our ultimate example - is truth (Deut. 32:4) and that He cannot lie (Num. 23:19; Heb. 6:18). Also, He hates falsehood (Prov. 6:16-19). Beyond that, all lies have as their originator Satan himself (John 8:44).

For our part, we can use these Scriptures as our guide: "A righteous man hates lying" (Prov. 13:5); love rejoices in truth (1 Cor. 13:6); lying is part of the old nature (Col. 3:9); growth means setting aside deceit (1 Pet. 2:1); and speaking truth declares righteousness (Prov. 12:17). People who trust God's Word should be people whose word can be trusted. Let yourself be trusted by the people who surrounds you. And, let's make every day Honesty Day.