EXODUS 8:28, 32

And Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the

wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Intercede for me.” But Pharaoh hardened his

heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go.

Americans are in the midst of an honesty crisis. Some call our era the “Age of the Rip-off.”

Employee theft is nearly one billion dollars a week Twenty percent of the gross national product

goes unreported to the government. Some 24 percent of respondents to a Money magazine

survey said they would keep the cash if they found a wallet containing $1,000.

Pharaoh also had a problem with honesty. With each new crisis he would promise to let the

people go. But when the critical moment of a plague was past, he would renege on his promise.

Such dishonesty eventually cost him the life of all the firstborn children of Egypt.

Honesty is an essential ingredient in a Christian’s life. At age 24, Abraham Lincoln was paid an

annual salary of $55.70 to serve as the postmaster of New Salem, Illinois. The New Salem post

office closed in 1836, but it took several years before an agent arrived to settle accounts.

When all the records were balanced, the agent claimed that $17 was due the government. Lincoln

crossed the room, opened an old trunk and took out a yellow cotton rag. Untying it, he spread out

the cloth and there was the $17. Honest Abe had reserved it untouched for all those years.

While as a Christian you may not deliberately steal or lie, what about other opportunities for

dishonesty? Do you stretch your coffee break beyond the allotted time? Do you make promises

and then break them? Are you careless with items loaned to you? These are all forms of

dishonesty. Pray that God would reveal any area of your life in which you are not living up to

His expectations.

IT SAYS A LOT ABOUT OUR SOCIETY WHEN THE WORD HONESTY HAS TO BE

PRECEDED BY OLD FASHIONED.

WOODROW KROLL

www.backtothebible.in