*INTEGRITY RUSTRUM* JACOB AND LABAN: THE HONESTY ADVANTAGE When you were growing up did you ever hear, “Honesty is the best policy.” How many people believe that? How many people practice that? All the time without exception? Honestly? How much is honesty practiced in our lives and in our country? A lack of honesty hurts everyone; it undermines trust, impairs relationships, and increases hostility between people. Genesis 29:1-30 Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.” A songwriter wrote about Honesty, with the refrain, “Honesty is such a lonely word. Everyone is so untrue. Honesty is hardly ever heard. And mostly what I need from you.” Knowing the importance of honesty is no guarantee that we will actually be honest. Honesty is telling the truth. Honesty is straightforward conduct. Honesty is being sincere, truthful, trustworthy, honorable, fair, and genuine. Honesty was somewhat lacking in Jacob’s family that we read about in Genesis. His father lied about Sarah being his wife. Jacob conspired with his mother to lie to and deceive Isaac and to steal his father’s deathbed blessing from his brother Esau. There is an old saying, “What goes around, comes around.” This is what happened to Jacob. He lied to and deceived his brother and then fled for his life. Then Genesis 29:1-30 happened: What was going on with Jacob, how much wine had he drunk, that he couldnt even tell that the woman he was given on his wedding night was not the beautiful woman he had worked for seven long years to marry, but her older sister? That’s bad. Clearly, Laban planned all along to use Jacob’s desire for Rachel to get his less marketable daughter Leah out of his tent. Laban thinks he comes out ahead by marrying off both his daughters and getting fourteen years of Jacob’s work at the same time. Obviously and conveniently Laban never mentioned while Jacob worked for him for seven years that it wasnt their custom to marry off a younger daughter before the older one. Jacob, the deceiver who lied, is lied to and deceived. He gets a taste of his own medicine and he is enraged. Laban doesnt appear to care that what he has done has guaranteed that his oldest daughter Leah will be stuck for the rest of her life being married to a man who loves someone else more than he loves her and, worst of all, that person happens to be her younger sister. Rachel is stuck being one of her husband’s two wives and knows she will never get away from her older sister. Laban’s lack of honesty impacts his daughters, their maids, his son-in-law, and in time, all of his grandchildren. Lying like honesty influences those around us and has consequences not only for ourselves, but for others as well. By being dishonest Laban sows seeds of conflict that will grow and spread for years. Some of us know what it is like to grow up or live in a household where honesty is not taught or practiced, when that is the case, conflict usually follows. The willingness to lie, cheat and be dishonest is ancient. In Leviticus 19:35-36a God warns, Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight, or volume. Your scales and weights must be accurate. Your containers for measuring dry materials or liquids must be accurate” Honesty still is the best policy. Honesty implies a refusal to lie, steal, or deceive in any way. In Deuteronomy 16:19-20 God says, “You must not distort justice; you must not show partiality; and you must not accept bribes, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, so that you may live and occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Deuteronomy 25:15-16, “You shall have only a full and honest weight; you shall have only a full and honest measure, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For all who do such things (cheat in weights and measures), all who act dishonestly, are abhorrent to the Lord your God.” This is also mentioned multiple times in Proverbs and in Ezekiel. In Luke 3:12-14 folks are coming to John the Baptist to be baptized and John encourages them to be honest, “Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.” We will succeed in Jesus’ name. Please continue to follow us on Facebook TheseLiesMustStop and Twitter @LiesMustStop; share our Posts and invite your friends to Like the Facebook page. E-mail: [email protected].
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 05:25:49 +0000
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