by Alyssa Ast
Honesty-- the quality or fact of being honest; uprightness and fairness.
2.
truthfulness, sincerity, or frankness.
3.
freedom from deceit or fraud.
In honor of National Honesty Day, I thought it would be the perfect time to discuss honesty-- a quality that's hard to come by nowadays. In my life, honesty is the best policy. It doesn't matter how big or small the lies you tell are, they are still lies--lies that instantly break trust and cause doubt of character in my eyes. There's nothing I can't stand more than dishonest people.
It doesn't matter if your lies are white, exaggerations, outright lies or whatever-- lies are lies, and they damage your character, and I don't like to associate with liars. After one lie or exaggeration has been told, your credibility has forever been damaged, and the words that come out of your mouth are now skeptical to believe, despite what was lied about in the first place. It's so much easier to be honest with yourself and others than it is to keep up with the dishonesty that flows from your mouth.
Many people say, sometimes the truth is hard to tell. Yes, sometimes the truth is hard to tell, but admitting you have been dishonest is so much harder, and righting the wrongs you've created because of your dishonesty is even harder. If you aren't consumed by lies, you maintain a light freedom about you. You aren't crushed by the lies you hold in. It's much easier to remember the truth, rather than all of the lies you have told.
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In my home, our number one rule is we don't lie. We don't lie to our children, so we expect them not to lie to us. We do not tolerate any type of dishonesty at all. Lying causes poor character, and I want my children to have good character. Lying makes you untrustworthy and hurts all of those around you, not just those who have been lied too. Your lies will always be brought into the light, even if it doesn't happen right away. My children are taught this very young, and understand that there are consequences to being dishonest. It's a quality many children aren't taught nowadays. As a result, lying children turn into lying adults, which only escalates as they become older.
Life is so much easier when you're honest.
I know it isn't always easy to be honest, but in honor of National Honesty Day, I encourage you all to spend the day living honestly, and hopefully today's actions will carry on through the remainder of your life.
