Inspirefly: Honesty Is the Best Policy

Today has been a weird day....one of those days where you plan to do all of these things and it actually seems reasonable, and then things start to get in the way. The items on the list take longer, massive thunderstorms prevent moving, and it just gets later and later. I am suppose to be working on a lesson about honesty for church tomorrow, and writing a blog post at the same time. So, I am going to write about my lesson and kill two birds with one stone :)

Mostly I will share with you guys the stories that I have found about being honest, because they are really powerful. The first is from Robert C. Gay from his talk entitled, "What Shall a Man Give in Exchange for His Soul?"

As I was growing up, my parents assigned me chores around the house and paid me an allowance for that work. I often used that money, a little over 50 cents a week, to go to the movies. Back then a movie ticket cost 25 cents for an 11-year-old. This left me with 25 cents to spend on candy bars, which cost 5 cents apiece. A movie with five candy bars! It couldn’t get much better than that.

All was well until I turned 12. Standing in line one afternoon, I realized that the ticket price for a 12-year-old was 35 cents, and that meant two less candy bars. Not quite prepared to make that sacrifice, I reasoned to myself, “You look the same as you did a week ago.” I then stepped up and asked for the 25-cent ticket. The cashier did not blink, and I bought my regular five candy bars instead of three.

Elated by my accomplishment, I later rushed home to tell my dad about my big coup. As I poured out the details, he said nothing. When I finished, he simply looked at me and said, “Son, would you sell your soul for a nickel?” His words pierced my 12-year-old heart. It is a lesson I have never forgotten.

This is a very powerful lesson that he learned from his father--is the lie really worth it?

This next story is from Ann M. Dibb's talk called, "I Believe in Being Honest and True"

“A man … went one evening to steal corn from a neighbor’s field. He took his little boy with him to sit on the fence and keep a look-out, so as to give warning in case any one should come along. The man jumped over the fence with a large bag on his arm, and before commencing to take the corn he looked all around, first one way and then the other, and not seeing any person, he was just about to fill his bag. … [The boy then called out]: