Honesty...

I am curious, “Are there degrees of honesty?”

Many years ago one of my assignments in my career field was that of a computer programmer and we always were taught that everything is a series of ones and zeros.  Binary - It’s either on or off.  [1 or 0]  So I my thought on honesty: - You either have it or you don't.

There are my scriptures about honesty, just in Proverbs there 19 passages that have the word honest or honesty in them. 

Proverbs 10:1-14 explains about honesty and how living an honest life is immortal.

Wise son, glad father; stupid son, sad mother. 
Ill-gotten gain gets you nowhere; an honest life is immortal. 
God won't starve an honest soul, but he frustrates the appetites of the wicked. 
Sloth makes you poor; diligence brings wealth. 
Make hay while the sun shines—that's smart; go fishing during harvest—that's stupid. 
Blessings accrue on a good and honest life, but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse. 
A good and honest life is a blessed memorial; a wicked life leaves a rotten stench. 
A wise heart takes orders; an empty head will come unglued. 
Honesty lives confident and carefree, but Shifty is sure to be exposed. 
An evasive eye is a sign of trouble ahead, but an open, face-to-face meeting results in peace. 
The mouth of a good person is a deep, life-giving well, but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse. 
Hatred starts fights, but love pulls a quilt over the bickering. 
You'll find wisdom on the lips of a person of insight, but the shortsighted needs a slap in the face. 
The wise accumulate knowledge—a true treasure; know-it-alls talk too much—a sheer waste.

There are no degrees of honesty.  There are only absolutes.  Either you are honest or you are not.  Honesty does not come for a price; honesty is its own reward.  It’s also the most efficient form of human behavior.  Honest persons never have to worry about which lie they have told to whom, and they never have to worry about getting caught.  Thus, they are free to focus all their energies on more productive things.  Make it a habit to be honest in all your dealings.  If you can’t be truthful in what you say, don’t say anything at all.  Remember, small lies start out innocently enough but soon assume lives of their own.  A small lie requires a larger one to conceal it, and soon more, even larger lies are required.  Don’t tell that first lie or take a single thing that doesn’t belong to you and you’ll never have to worry.

What happens when we are not honest to people?  Well sometimes we get away with it, most times people get annoyed with us and could even choose not be friends.  If we are not honest with the wrong people we could get into legal trouble and have more problems that we need. 

What happens when we are not honest with God?  Is that an answer that you really want to hear?  There are several examples in the Bible on that as well, but the one that most sticks with me is in Acts 5:1-6  

But a man named Ananias—his wife, Sapphira, conniving in this with him—sold a piece of land, secretly kept part of the price for himself, and then brought the rest to the apostles and made an offering of it.

Peter said, "Ananias, how did Satan get you to lie to the Holy Spirit and secretly keep back part of the price of the field?  Before you sold it, it was all yours, and after you sold it, the money was yours to do with as you wished.  So what got into you to pull a trick like this?  You didn't lie to men but to God."

Ananias, when he heard those words, fell down dead.  That put the fear of God into everyone who heard of it.  The younger men went right to work and wrapped him up, then carried him out and buried him.

I am not trying to say that God will strike you dead for lying, but why tempt Him?  You may think that you are telling a small lie to avoid hurting someone’s feelings, but are you really?

Proverbs 25:15 Like clouds and wind without rain is one who boasts of gifts never given.

We all struggle with this; especially if it involves trying to get our own way.  Sometimes we rationalize to ourselves that it’s only a small lie or I am doing this for your own good.  Then it becomes a habit and it is a never ending cycle because it’s in our hearts.  But to quit lying is easier said than done, this type behavior requires a change of heart.  Only God can change your heart. 

Ephesians 4:20-25 But that's no life for you.  You learned Christ!  My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus.  Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go.  It's rotten through and through.  Get rid of it!  And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.  What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense.  Tell your neighbor the truth.  In Christ's body we're all connected to each other, after all.  When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.

But once God changes your heart then you can become honest with yourself and that becomes integrity.

One final thought is from Proverbs 19:1 Better to be poor and honest than a rich person no one can trust.