“The true
measure of life is not Length, but Honesty.”
This very astute and accurate observation was made by John Lyly, the 17th century
English author and poet, considered to be among the best of the English playwrights
of that time. He was clearly confirming that a truly worthy life is never
related to the number of years lived, but rather to the quality of the life
lived.
Benjamin Franklin’s famous comment, “honesty is the best policy,” has been used so often at home, in
school, at work, on the sports field and in church that we take it for granted,
and very rarely do we question its validity or necessity. We give lip service
to it whenever we are trying to reassure ourselves or impress others of our good
intentions, but yet continue to live our lives and do the things that are convenient for us, rather than correct. When
challenged, most people will rather make excuses or hide their true feelings or
their intentions rather than admit the truth or accept responsibility. They are
willing to do or say anything they think might get them by, not so much to be
intentionally deceitful, but rather to protect their egos from being exposed;
and equally, their self-image from being compromised.
Honesty, the quality of being honest, is a
basic value of human behavior which can be defined in variety of ways depending
on how we choose to view it. In terms of human communication, people are
considered to be honest when they tell the truth to the best of their
knowledge, or do not withhold or alter what they know or think. In respect of
behavior, honesty refers to doing the right thing or abstaining from wrong or
unacceptable actions, such as stealing or cheating. In essence, honesty incorporates all the concepts of
truthfulness and reliability, and must always be an integral part all human
thought, words, actions and relationships. The very well respected American
religious leader James E. Faust, explained
this in simple but highly crystallized clarity when he said:
“Honesty is more than just not lying. It is truth
telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving.”
But
even in recognizing the validity of this statement, it must never be considered
as complete and irreversible. For in the course of living, there are times when
unrefined honesty may give rise to pain and suffering even if it is done
unintentionally. While any conscious dishonesty is never ever desirable, there
are times it is more prudent to withhold or qualify such honesty; especially if
such action is in the other’s interest. Therefore to be truly honest, one must
strive at all times to be humble and critical of one’s intentions and needs, while
also being fully aware of the impact of one’s actions on others.
-In fact, by far the best measure of a person’s rewards for honesty is
not in his level of satisfaction but in the effect it has on others.
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