And your legacy?

William Shakespeare reminded us, "No legacy is so rich as honesty." Where would we be today if this world we live in would adhere to this belief? If no one sought anything but honesty in relationships, what depth would those relationships be able to attain? If honesty was the standard by which we do business, where would the profits of a company soar? Honesty is UNDERRATED these days. The gimmick, quick cover-up, and the facade all play an active part in our society, don't they? Wouldn't it be nice if these things were no longer the way we live?

The Lord detests the use of dishonest scales, but he delights in accurate weights. Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people. Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death. The godly are directed by honesty; the wicked fall beneath their load of sin. (Proverbs 11:1-5 NLT)

Honesty requires vulnerability and that is what makes it so uncomfortable for some. It means we have to be truthful with ourselves first, then with others. If that makes us squirm a little, then perhaps we should evaluate how we have been behaving. It is possible we have put up quite a 'good front' in the face of some pretty unbecoming internal habits, hurts, and hangups, isn't it? Pride always gets us into trouble, doesn't it? If not today, the trouble will soon find us! The more we rely upon 'false measures' by which we portray our lives, the harder it is to keep track of the 'falsity' we have portrayed.

Mom used to tell me lies 'snowballed'. She was oh so right! You tell one, then you need another to cover that one up, then another, and so on. Soon, you forgot the original lie, much less the truth! The more we hide what we think others will not like, the less we find ourselves able to be 'real' in our relationships and dealings. It is harder to return to truth than it would have been to just live the truth from the very beginning. The load of sin that we live under when we try to hide our sinfulness is often the hardest load for us to bear and one we bear so unnecessarily.

Right living requires honesty. We might find ourselves being totally honest with God, but only to the degree we are willing to be honest with ourselves first. We have to be able to identify those things that have been causing us to want to hide. Then we have to declare them openly and honestly to God. Why is this important? God knows those things already, doesn't he? We need the open declaration of our sin because it begins the exploration into what led us into that sin in the first place. As we discuss it with God, we find he helps us see the root of the sin. When the root is exposed (which cannot happen when we mask it), we find a path toward deliverance and freedom.

We won't understand how honesty changes the legacy of our lives until we are willing to take a deeper look behind the masks we have been wearing. Once we do, we will find God rewriting our story, piece by piece, until the mask is no longer what others see. They see the finished work of grace instead. Isn't that the legacy we all want to portray? Just askin...