Chaplain Ronnie Melancon
Editor’s Note: I loved this the first time I read it. Speaking with friends this weekend made me want to share it again. God bless them & you.
By: Chaplain Ronnie Melancon:
Years ago I went to a Christian school training, and I never forgot what one of the speakers said – “Honesty is not the best policy. It is the only policy.”
If we allow ourselves an option, we will always find certain situations produce a convenience to be dishonest. Jesus Christ said that He is Truth, and only Truth can really make a person free (Gospel of John ch. 8).
Everyone may not favor you if you live honestly, but you will walk in the favor of God. Below is a great story about honesty told by the late Rev. Adrian Rogers:
There was a king who visited a slave ship. He went below the deck of the ship to talk to those who were chained to the oars; asking one man, “Why are you here?”
The man replied, “Sire, I don’t know why I am here. I was in a crowd when a crime was committed. They arrested everybody, and got me. I am innocent.” The king asked another who said, “I am not really guilty. I am a victim of false witnesses who have lied about me.”
The king went throughout the ship speaking with the men, and each one of them had some reason why they were innocent and should not be there. The king finally came across one man who responded differently when asked, “Why are you here?”
The man replied, “Sire, I am here because I deserve to be here. I have sinned against my God. I have sinned against my king, and now I am paying the penalty for my sin.”
When the king heard what the man said, he stepped back and yelled, “You knave. What are you doing here among so many honest men? Guards release him, and get him out of here!”
Not until we admit our sin are we going to know the mercy and the forgiveness of the king. Romans 4:7-8 says, “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”
Remember, we all make mistakes, but an honest person can only make honest mistakes.
Lord bless,
Chaplain Ronnie Melancon