Exodus 20 v 15 You shall not steal.
Honesty is a great challenge in these days, as it has always been. To resist the love of money and the lure of materialism is not easy. In our high-tech days it is hard to be honest in all our financial dealings. The ideal is to work hard and accumulate possessions honestly and at the same time to be generous in giving to the work of God and to those in need. That’s the ideal. We have in fact had the example in recent years of some of the world’s richest people giving millions away to charity. Many rich people establish foundations for the relief of the needy, and all charitable institutions and churches have benefitted from the generosity of people to whom God has entrusted wealth. All this is most laudable.
On the other hand we have seldom been so disgusted with the corruption and blatant misuse of public money as we have seen in our day. This is not because it was not known in earlier days. Far from it. Every age and every generation has had to contend to a greater or lesser degree with corruption of one sort or another from public figures. But in our times it is, through the media, made so public and the facts made known so quickly that it creates a revulsion in us as we witness the blatant dishonesty of public figures we are meant to trust.
But we need to keep in mind that honesty is as required of us in our private lives as it is in the public lives of others. So instead of pointing fingers we should acknowledge the high ethical stands demanded by the Word of God and then examine ourselves to see whether we are;
scrupulously honest in all our own financial dealings,
honest in our taxes and investments,
compassionate to the needy,
always seeking ways to assist the work of the Gospel.
We will examine this command in the ensuing days.
Meditation: Read Proverbs 13 v 11