Let's Be Honest

The Bible is filled with directions for living the Christian life, but not all of them made it into the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:16 reads, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”

That’s a very broad commandment. It doesn’t apply only to legal proceedings or even finances, for that matter. It means we are never to be dishonest anywhere at any time. 

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “What about Exodus 1, where the Israelite midwives deceive Pharaoh to protect infants … and Joshua 2, where Rahab lies to save the Israelite spies? Why are those cases seemingly acceptable to God?

Well, those were times when two conflicting moral imperatives collided head-on, telling the truth and saving lives. Because we are made in the image of God, saving human life obviously wins out and that’s what the midwives and Rahab did.

But it’s very unlikely any of us will ever be in a similar situation, so let’s get back to why honesty is so important for the rest of us.

And that’s simply because it’s so fundamentally important to God. He’s completely and utterly holy and cannot abide sin of any kind, including dishonesty. God is truth.

Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Compare that to Satan— whom Jesus describes in John 8:44 as, “a liar and the father of lies.”

The world is watching to see which side we’re on. We’re image bearers of God— so we must always be scrupulously honest.

Now, as we turn to financial honesty specifically, you might wonder why we’re not focusing on another commandment, “Thou shalt not steal,” which comes right before “thou shalt not lie.”

We don’t think that’s a coincidence. Those two commandments are linked and expand on each other. It’s difficult to do one without doing the other. When it comes to finances, they’re two sides of the same coin. How can you steal without first being dishonest?